Context :
Govt panel suggests sharp hike in NREGS wage rates, budgetary outlay …. ET … 04 Aug 2023
Extract :
A high-level government panel, tasked with recommending changes to make the rural job guarantee scheme more effective, has called for a significant increase in the extant wage rates--over and above the recent annual hike--and the budgetary allocation for the programme, persons aware of the details said.
Although the panel, headed by former rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha, hasn’t suggested the precise quantum hike , the recommendation has put the government in a bind..
This is because rates under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme ( MGNREGS ) serve as the benchmark for farm / rural wages and significantly influence industrial wages as well
It ( panel ) wants such wages to be reassessed every five years, in addition to the ANNUAL HIKE
It has also proposed to peg ANNUAL INCREASE in the wage rate to the CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ( rural ) instead of the extant practice of linking it to the Consumer Price Index ( Agriculture Labour )
My Take :
Ø MGNREGA : Can it morph into UBI ? ……………………….. 11 May 2020
Extract :
For most of the States, current daily wage rates under MGNREGA are around Rs 200 / day , after recent upward revision last month
How do these compare with government mandated MINIMUM WAGES ?
MGNREGA daily wages range from 67 % to 96 % of Minimum Wages
SOLUTION :
Ø MGNREGA should be re-named, MGNRUGA ( Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Urban Employment Guarantee Act )
Ø Besides RURAL households, it should cover URBAN households as well
Ø Besides “ Unskilled Manual Work “, it must also cover “ Semi-skilled / Skilled “ work as well
Ø The daily wages payable , must be the “ Minimum Wage “ at the start of each Skill level grade and periodically
revised upward, depending upon CPI
with regards,
hemen Parekh
www.hemenparekh.ai / 04 Aug 2023
No comments:
Post a Comment