Sreelatha Menon / New Delhi July 30, 2008, 0:50 IST

The UPA government is planning to amend the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to redefine the beneficiaries under the Act.

At present, the Act provides 100 days of work per household. The idea is to substitute the word

Taking note of acute shortage of skilled labour force that could severely impact country's productivity and GDP growth, the labour and employment ministry in collaboration with International Labour Organisation (ILO) has initiated the process for National Skills Development Policy.

NORTH LAKHIMPUR, July 22: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is witnessing a trouble time here when 4 ward members of 1,3, 4 and 22 wards of Tinthengia gaon panchayat under Karunabari Anchalik panchayat have alleged of massive corruption in the scheme at the implementation phase.
In a complaint lodged at the Deputy Commissioner Lakhimpur, the ward members have also accused the president of the panchayat as the source of corruption and demanded an inquiry into the matter.

Jean Dr

"Only 25 per cent of the NREGS funds have actually reached beneficiaries'

"Rs.2,100 crore apparently siphoned off by the executing authorities'

"Loot, plunder and pillage of the NREGS funds has been truly participatory'

Hong Kong's unemployment rate for the three months to June stayed at 3.3 per cent, the same as in the previous two periods, official figures showed Thursday.
The figure was unchanged from the February to April and March to May period, the Census and Statistics Department said in a statement.
Total employment decreased by around 1,200 from the previous three-month period to 3.53 million the government said, but the labour forced decreased by around 1,900 to 3.65 million.

GUWAHATI, July 16: The Assam Assembly today witnessed a heated discussion over the underutilization of Sampurna Gramin Rojgar Yojana (SGRY) funds and failure of the Government to get the SGRY's term extended in the State to execute the pending schemes. The Opposition criticized the State Government's failure to extend the term of the SGRY by two months even after the Assembly had passed a proposal to that effect earlier. The Government also came under attack for the anomalies in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in the State.