Gujarat, other "richer" states poor performers in implementing rural jobs guarantee scheme

Latest data released by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) suggest that Gujarat, along with a "richer" states Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab, have been some of the worst performers in the implementation the previous UPA government's flagship job scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The report, titled "Employment and Unemployment Situation among Social Groups in India", was released a fortnight ago.
The report shows, nearly one-third, or 29.2 per cent of Gujarat's job seekers who got themselves registered under MGNREGA by getting job cards, sought but failed to get employment. This is against the all-India average of 18.8 per cent.

Just four out of 20 major states performed worse than Gujarat -- Punjab (30.4 per cent), Karnataka (30.5 per cent), Bihar (35.4 per cent), and Maharashtra (44.8 per cent). NSSO operates under the Union ministry of statistics and programme implementation, Government of India.
In Gujarat, 17.2 per cent of the 18 plus able-bodied rural population got itself registered under the MGNREGA. This is against the national average of 23.7 per cent.

Giving a further breakup, the NSSO data show that of those 17.2 per cent which got job cards in Gujarat, 31.4 per cent got job (national average 50.5 per cent), and 39.4 per cent did not seek work (national average 30.5 per cent).
NSSO data say, larger number of scheduled tribes (STs), scheduled castes (SCs) and other backward classes (OBC) from Gujarat sought job under the MGNREGA -- 32.4 per cent, 22.5 per cent and 15.5 per cent (national average 42.6 per cent, 30.9 per cent and 21 per cent) respectively. This is against the "Others" category -- upper castes -- under which just about 1.9 per cent sought jobs under it (national average 14.7 per cent).
But of those who got themselves registered in Gujarat, 34.9 per cent STs, 18.1 per cent SCs, and 23.4 per cent OBCs failed to get jobs under the rural guarantee scheme despite efforts they put in to seek them. This is against the national average of 19 per cent STs 20.4 per cent SCs, and 16.5 per cent OBCs, who sought but failed to get jobs.

The data are based on a survey NSSO carried out in 2011-12.

Comments

World Hijab Day? Ex-Muslim women observe Feb 1 as No Hijab Day, insist: 'Put it on a Man'

I didn't know that there could ever be a thing as World Hijab Day until I received an email alert from Maryam Namazie of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB), stating that several ex-Muslim women's groups had observed the same day—February 1—as No Hijab Day! According to Namazie, the day "was created on February 1 as a direct response to World Hijab Day" to "illuminate the coercive and oppressive realities of the hijab as a pillar of sex apartheid and a war on women."

Google powered AI refuses to correct grammar of a 'balanced' piece on Trump sending chained immigrants to India!

This is a continuation of my blog on how, while the start-up-developed AI app DeepSeek is being criticized for consistently rejecting content related to China or Maoism, there appears to be no mention in Western media about why another app, developed by the powerful Google, Gemini, remains silent on Indian political issues.

5% poor in India? Union govt claim debunked, '26.4% of population below poverty line'

A recent paper, referring to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2022-23 of the Government of India (GoI), has debunked the official claim that poverty has substantially declined. Titled "Poverty in India: The Rangarajan Method and the 2022–23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey", the paper —authored by scholars CA Sethu, LT Abhinav Surya, and CA Ruthu—states that "more than a quarter of India’s population falls below the poverty line."

Gujarat a police state? How top High Court advocate stunned a senior-most journalist

Rajdeep Sardesai, Anand Yagnik This is a continuation of my earlier blog on well-known journalist Rajdeep Sardesai's lecture in memory of the late Achyut Yagnik at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA). I was a little surprised when I received the intimation about the venue for the lecture.

How the middle classes are returning to the BJP fold, be it Delhi or Gujarat: Mahakumbh, Sitharaman's budget

Whatever reasons may be offered for the Aam Aadmi Party's defeat in Delhi—whether it was the BJP's promises of more freebies than AAP, the shedding of ultra-nationalist slogans, or the successful demolition of Arvind Kejriwal's "Mr. Clean" image—my recent interaction with a group of middle-class individuals highlighted a notable trend. Those who had just begun to sit on the fence were now once again returning to the BJP fold.

Why burn Manusmriti? Why not preserve it to demonstrate, display historicity of casteism?

In a significant Facebook post, Rana Singh, former associate professor of English at Patna University, has revealed something that few seem to know. Titled "The Shudras in Manusmriti", Singh says, because Manusmriti is discussed so often, he thought of reading it himself. “This book likely dates back to the 2nd or 3rd century BCE, and the presence of contradictory statements suggests that it is not the work of a single author,” he says in his Facebook post in Hindi, written in 2022 and recently reshared.

Talking of increased corporate control over news, Rajdeep Sardesai 'evades' alternative media

When I received an intimation that well-known journalist Rajdeep Sardesai was to speak at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) on February 2, my instant reaction was: I know what he is going to say—his views are quite well known; he wouldn’t be saying anything new. Yet, I decided to go and listen to him to catch his mood at a time when the media, as he (and I) knew it, is changing fast due to the availability of new technological tools that were not accessible even a decade ago.

Trump’s research cuts 'may mean' advantage China: But will India leverage global brain drain to its advantage?

When I heard from a couple of NRI professionals—currently on work visas and engaged in research projects at American universities—that one of President Donald Trump's major policy thrusts was to cut federal funding to the country's top educational institutions, I was instantly reminded of what Prof. Kaushik Basu had said while delivering a lecture in Ahmedabad.

I'm flattered: A New York media house claims I was a KGB agent! Wow, I didn't know that

I was astonished, let me say pleasantly surprised, on receiving a comment by Rich TVX News on my blog "Why predictions of an imminent collapse of the Russian economy may be wrong" (January 28). I don't know who wrote the strange comment from this "media house", which is based in New York, and claims to "hold sway not only among the masses but also within global corridors of power, influencing esteemed politicians and shaping international diplomacy, especially evident during pivotal events like the ongoing crisis in Ukraine."

Search This Blog