Nearly 73 per cent households in rural India practice open defecation despite sanitation drives launched by the government, according to an independent evaluation by the Planning Commission.

In an indication of poor planning and performance, only four of 28 states were able to meet their labour budget projections for the rural job guarantee scheme in 2012-13.

Though the CAG has pointed to poor performance of MGNREGA, a joint study by the UNDP and Sambodhi, a Delhi-based research organisation, has found the scheme has made a “significant impact” in gener

Twelve years after launching its flagship rural roads scheme, the Ministry of Rural Development is set to introduce the second version of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, which will focus on refurbishing the existing rural roads, by moving a proposal in the Cabinet on Thursday.

PMGSY, a Centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2000, seeks to provide all-weather road connectivity to rural areas for habitations with a population of 500 persons and above in plains and 250 and above in hilly/ desert areas. The sole focus of the scheme has been to provide new connectivity to unconnected areas. PMGSY II will focus on upgradation of existing rural roads not built under PMGSY and making capital investments to bring such roads to PMGSY standards.