Jean Dreze
Khunti: In what is seen as a victory for workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act here in Jharkhand who had faced hardships because of delayed payment of compensation, as many as 174 of them from 10 villages of Khunti and Murhu blocks have received Rs. 2,000 each under the Payment of Wages Act, the total adding up to Rs. 3.48 lakh.

Ranchi, June 8: Giridih showed the way. Khunti is following suit.

The World Bank today praised the UPA government's National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGA) saying people can fall back on the scheme "in these hard times." "India is fortunate to have in place a (NREGA) program that people can fall back on to find work in these hard times", World Bank's Country Director Roberto Zagha said at a function to launch a book 'Social Safety Nets : Learning f

SHAHNAWAZ AKHTAR
DC Vandana Dadel at Town Hall, Giridih, on Wednesday. Pix: Shahnawaz Akhtar

Giridih, June 3: The UPA government

Himachal Pradesh has been adjudged the top state as regard the implementation of the 20-point programme in the country from April, 2008, to January, 2009.

A communication of the Government of India in this regard was received by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal here today. It said the state had exceeded targets under most of the components of the programme during the said period.

The successful implementation of NREGA and the Right to Information Act indicates that the climate is conducive for a far-reaching, rights-based legislation to eliminate hunger and deprivation.

ASIT JOLLY
CHANDIGARH

For the second time in succession, farmers in Punjab are in panic with hardly any migrant workers from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh available less than a fortnight before the paddy sowing season due to begin June 10.

India has started a pilot project to quantify climate benefits from a massive anti-poverty scheme that could become one of the country's main weapons to fight criticism it is not doing enough to tackle global warming.