CITIZEN AND CIVIC AWARNESS
• SUBJECT CODE : 18MPA45S
• PREPARED BY : DR.P.MAGUDAPATHY Asst. Professor
• DEPARTMENT : PG & Research Department Of Public
Administration
• CONTACT NO. : 9994672379
• E-mail id : [email protected]
The content is prepared according to the text book and reference book given in the syllabus.
CITIZEN AND CIVIC AWARNESS
Year Subject Title Sem. Sub Code
2018 -19 Onwards
Citizen and civic awarness IV 18MPA45S
UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION
Need for Political Education – Citizen Obligation under Indian Constitution – Citizenship Training – Political Culture.
UNIT – II: GOVERNMENT SERVICES
Approaching Government Agencies for various welfare Programmes – Appling for Ration Card – Birth and Death Certificates – Voter Registration – Voter Identity Card – PAN Card –
Enrolling Membership for Central and State Government Programme– Employment
Registration –– Consumer forum and its uses for citizens – Redressing of Citizen Grievances.
UNIT – III: CITIZEN CHARTER
Citizens Charter – Meaning, Origin – Need for Citizen Charter.–E .Governance – Delivery of Services
UNIT – IV: NON–GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
NGO – Meaning , Significance – Dimensions – Organization and Functions of NGO –
Regulatory Mechanism at Central and State level Government over NGOs – Sources of Finances of NGOs – Expenditure, Account and Audit of NGOs.–Self Help Group and Women
Empowerment.
UNIT – V: RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT
Right to Information Act 2005–.Right to Education and Employment–MGNREGA–
Entrepreneurship.
Books Recommended for Study:
1. Hoveyda.A. Indian Government And Politics Dorling KindersLey India Pvt.Ltd, New Delhi–
2011.
2. Mehra.A.K. Party system in India Lancer Publisher, New Delhi.2013.
3. Sankndher.M.M. Democratic Politics and Governance in India , Deep & Deep Publication ,New Delhi,2003.
CITIZEN AND CIVIC AWARNESS
SEMESTER: IV SUB.CODE:18BPA45S
UNIT V
RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT
RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT 2005
Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a "public authority" (a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. In case of matter involving a petitioner's life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours. The Act also
requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.[1]
The RTI Bill was passed by Parliament of India on 15 June 2005 and came into force with effect from 12 October 2005. Every day on an average, over 4800 RTI
applications are filed. In the first ten years of the commencement of the act over 17,500,000 applications had been filed.[2]
Although Right to Information is not included as a Fundamental Right in the Constitution of India, it protects the fundamental rights to Freedom of Expression and Speech under Article 19(1)(a) and Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 guaranteed by the Constitution. The authorities under RTI Act 2005 are called public authorities. The Public Information Officer (PIO) or the First Appellate Authority in the public authorities perform quasi judicial function of deciding on the application and appeal respectively. This act was enacted in order to consolidate the fundamental right in the Indian constitution 'freedom of speech'. Since RTI is implicit in the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, it is an implied fundamental right.
Information disclosure in India had traditionally been restricted by the Official Secrets Act 1923 and various other special laws, which the new RTI Act
overrides . Right to Information codifies a fundamental right of the citizens of India. RTI has proven to be very useful, but is counteracted by the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011.
The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, seeks to amend Sections 13, 16, and 27 of the RTI Act. Section 13 of the original Act: It sets the term of the central Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners at five years (or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier).[5] Finally in ashwanee k. singh case on 20 September 2020, it is stabilised that right to information is a
fundamental right [6]
SCOPE
The Act extents to the whole of India.[a][7] It covers all the constitutional authorities, including executive, legislature and judiciary; any institution or body established or constituted by an act of Parliament or a state legislature. It is also defined in the Act that bodies or authorities established or constituted by order or notification of appropriate government including bodies "owned, controlled or substantially financed" by government, or non-Government organizations
"substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds".
Private bodies
Private bodies are not within the Act's ambit directly. In a decision of Sarbjit roy vs Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission,[8] the Central Information
Commission also reaffirmed that privatised public utility companies fall within the purview of RTI.[9] As of 2014, private institutions and NGOs receiving over 95%
of their infrastructure funds from the government come under the Act.[10]
Political parties
The Central Information Commission (CIC) held that the political parties are public authorities and are answerable to citizens under the RTI Act. The CIC said that seven national parties -
Congress, BJP, NCP, CPI(M), CPI and BSP and BJD - has been substantially funded indirectly by the Central Government and have the character of public authorities under the RTI Act as they perform public functions.[11][12] But in August 2013 the government introduced a Right To Information (Amendment) Bill which would remove political parties from the scope of the law. Currently no parties are under the RTI Act and a case has been filed for bringing all political parties under it.[13]
Amendment
The Right to Information Act 2019 passed on July 25, 2019[14] modified the terms and conditions of service of the CIC and Information Commissioners at the centre and in states.[15] It had been criticized as watering down the independence of the information commissions.[16]
Supreme Court judgement
Supreme Court of India on 13 November 2019, upheld the decision of Delhi High Court bringing the office of Chief Justice of India under the purview of Right to Information (RTI) Act.
PROCESS
The Right to information in India is governed by two major bodies:
• Central Information Commission (CIC) – Chief Information commissioner who heads all the central departments and ministries- with their own public
Information officers (PIO)s. CICs are directly under the President of India.[]
• State Information Commissions – State Public Information Officers or SPIOs head over all the state department and ministries. The SPIO office is directly under the corresponding State Governor.
State and Central Information Commissions are independent bodies and Central Information Commission has no jurisdiction over the State Information
Commission.[17]
Fees
A citizen who desires to seek some information from a public authority is required to send, along with the application (a Postal order or DD (Demand draft) or a bankers cheque) payable to the Accounts Officer of the public authority as fee prescribed for seeking information. If the person is from
a disadvantaged community, he/she need not pay. The applicant may also be
required to pay further fee towards the cost of providing the information, details of which shall be intimated to the applicant by the PIO (Public Information Officer) as prescribed by the RTI ACT.
Digital right to information systems
A digital portal has been set up, RTI Portal,] a gateway to the citizens for quick search of information on the details of first Appellate Authorities, PIOs etc.
amongst others, besides access to RTI related information[21] / disclosures
published on the web by various Public Authorities under the government of India as well as the State Governments. It is an initiative taken by Department of
Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.[22]
The Right to information in India has been mired with controversies ranging from their use in political battles, asking for educational degrees of political rivals, or cases of blatant refusals to provide information on high-profile projects to allegations of misuse by civil society.[23][24][25] The backlash against RTI by the state hampered the citizen's right to know.[26]
Attacks on RTI activists and protection suggestions
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) data points to over 310 cases[27] across India where people were either attacked, murdered, physically or mentally harassed or had their property damaged because of the information they
sought under RTI. The data throws up over 50 alleged murders and two suicides that were directly linked with RTI applications filed.[28]
There is a consensus felt that there is a need to amend the RTI Act to provide for the protection of those seeking information under the Act.[29] The Asian Centre for Human Rights recommends that a separate chapter, "Protection of those seeking information under the (RTI) Act", be inserted into the Act.
Protection measures suggested include:
• Mandatory, immediate registration of complaints of threats or attacks against RTI activists on the First Information Report and placing such FIRs before the magistrate or judge of the area within 24 hours for issuance of directions for protection of those under threats and their family members, and periodic review of such protection measures
• Conducting inquiry into threats or attacks by a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police/Assistant Commissioner of Police to be concluded within 90 days and we also use RTI and get its benefit.
Intellectual property rights
Many civil society members have recently alleged the subversion of the right to information Act by the invocation of Intellectual Property rights argument by the government agencies from time to time.
Most notable are:
• The Right to Information denied by RBI on Demonetization citing Intellectual Property Laws.
• The Right to Information Denied by Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department after more than 8 months of a wait on under construction Gomti Riverfront
Development Project. A group of researchers requested for environment Impact and Project Report on the project which is flagged for negative impacts, tax money wastage by environmental scientists and research reports.
Rejection of RTIs
Scholars argue that the Right to Information Act's original intent to make government transparent and accountable is faltering as RTI requests are rejected and the bureaucratic systems are bogged down by millions of requests.
Many RTIs are rejected because the bureaucratic requirements (including the technocratic language used) of filing are too onerous and legalistic for ordinary citizens. Sixty percent of the RTI appeals made to Information Commissioners in Delhi are rejected for a variety of reasons, including that appeals are not typed or not written in English, or lack an index of the papers attached or a list of date. This bureaucratic barrier, worse for those without access to higher education or
information, makes the right to information inaccessible. Many citizens have to seek out NGOs, RTI activists, or lawyers, to file their RTIs.[
Benefits
Many activists view the Right to Information Act as a final liberation from British colonialism; they describe the RTI law as “a tool for empowering ordinary citizens and changing the culture of governance by making it transparent, less corrupt, participatory, and accountable". They also note that RTI requests provide strategy and substance for activists on a broad range of social issues, including "land and environmental rights, social security benefits, the working of financial institutions, political party financing reform, civic infrastructure, and even public-private
partnerships”
MGNREGA
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA), also known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) is Indian legislation enacted on August 25, 2005.
The MGNREGA provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage.
The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Govt of India is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments
• This act was introduced with an aim of improving the purchasing power of the rural people, primarily semi or un-skilled work to people living below poverty line in rural India. It attempts to bridge the gap between the rich and poor in the country. Roughly one-third of the stipulated work force must be women.
• Adult members of rural households submit their name, age and address with photo to the Gram Panchayat. The Gram Panchayat registers households after making enquiry and issues a job card. The job card contains the details of adult member enrolled and his /her photo. Registered person can submit an application for work in writing (for at least fourteen days of continuous work) either to Panchayat or to Programme Officer.
• The Panchayat/Programme officer will accept the valid application and issue dated receipt of application, letter providing work will be sent to the
applicant and also displayed at Panchayat office. The employment will be provided within a radius of 5 km: if it is above 5 km extra wage will be paid.
Key facts that users should know about MNREGA
1. MGNREGA guarantees hundred days of wage employment in a financial year, to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
2. Individual beneficiary oriented works can be taken up on the cards of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, small or marginal farmers or
beneficiaries of land reforms or beneficiaries under the Indira Awaas Yojana of the Government of India.
3. Within 15 days of submitting the application or from the day work is demanded, wage employment will be provided to the applicant.
4. Right to get unemployment allowance in case employment is not provided within fifteen days of submitting the application or from the date when work is sought.
5. Receipt of wages within fifteen days of work done.
6. Variety of permissible works which can be taken up by the Gram Panchayaths.
7. MGNREGA focuses on the economic and social empowerment of women.
8. MGNREGA provides “Green” and “Decent” work.
9. Social Audit of MGNREGA works is mandatory, which lends to accountability and transparency.
10. MGNREGA works address the climate change vulnerability and protect the farmers from such risks and conserve natural resources.
11. The Gram Sabha is the principal forum for wage seekers to raise their voices and make demands. It is the Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat which approves the shelf of works under MGNREGA and fix their priority.
Implementation Status
• The scheme was introduced in 200 districts during financial year 2006-07 and 130 districts during the financial year 2007-08
• In April 2008 NREGA expanded to entire rural area of the country covering 34 States and Union Territories, 614 Districts, 6,096 Blocks and 2.65 lakhs Gram Panchayat.
• The scheme now covers 648 Districts, 6,849 Blocks and 2,50,441 Gram Panchayats in the financial year 2015-16.
Relationship between Mahatma Gandhi NREGA and Mahatma Gandhi NREGS Activities covered under MGNREGA
:
• Union Rural Development Ministry has notified works under MGNREGA, majority of which are related to agricultural and allied activities, besides the works that will facilitate rural sanitation projects in a major way.
• The works have been divided into 10 broad categories like Watershed, Irrigation and Flood management works, Agricultural and Livestock related works, Fisheries and works in coastal areas and the Rural Drinking water and Sanitation related works.
• Briefing the MGNREGA 2.0 (the second generation reforms for the rural job scheme) the priority of the works will be decided by the Gram Panchayats in meetings of the Gram Sabhas and the Ward Sabhas.
• The Rural development also informed that the 30 new works being added in the Schedule 1 will also help the
• Rural sanitation projects, as for the first time toilet building, soak pits and solid and liquid waste management have been included under MGNREGA.
Though the overall 60:40 ratio of labour and material component will be maintained at the Gram Panchayat level but there will be some flexibility in the ratio for certain works based on the practical requirements.
• Construction of AWC building has been included as an approved activity under the MGNREG Act. ‘Guidelines for construction of Anganwadi
Centres’ under MGNREGS have been issued jointly by Secretary, WCD and Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, on 13th August, 2015. Under MGNREGS, expenditure up to Rs.5 lakh per AWC building for construction will be allowed. Expenditure beyond Rs. 5 lakh per AWC including
finishing, flooring, painting, plumbing, electrification, wood work, etc. will be met from the ICDS funds.
History
Since 1960, 30 years were expended in struggling to find suitable employment schemes in India's vast rural hinterland. The experiences of these decades provided important lessons to the government. These included the ‘Rural Manpower
Programme’ which exposed the tribulations of financial management, the ‘Crash Scheme for Rural Employment’ on planning for outcomes, a ‘Pilot Intensive Rural Employment Programme’ of labourintensive works, the ‘Drought Prone Area Past Scenario …Programme’ of integrated rural development, ‘Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labourers Scheme’ of rural economic development, the ‘Food for Work Programme’ (FWP) of holistic development and better coordination with the states, the ‘National Rural Employment Programme’ (NREP) of community
development, and the ‘Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme’ of focus on landless households. [9] The Planning Commission later approved the scheme and it was adopted on national scale. [10]On 1 April 1989, to converge employment generation, infrastructure development and food security in rural
areas, the government integrated NREP and RLEGP [n 1] into a new scheme JRY.
The most significant change was the decentralization of implementation by involving the local people through PRIs and hence a decreasing role of bureaucracy. [12]
On 2 October 1993, the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) was initiated by the then Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao to provide employment to agricultural hands during the lean agricultural season. P.V. Rao had started discussions on thisact in the year 1991. [13] The role of PRIs was reinforced with the local selfgovernment at the district level called the ‘Zilla Parishad’ as the main
implementing authority. Later, EAS was merged with SGRY in 2001. [14] On 1 April 1999, the JRY was revamped and renamed to JGSY with a similar objective.
The role of PRIs was further reinforced with the local self-government at the village level called the ‘Village Panchayats’ as the sole implementing authority. In 2001, it was merged with SGRY. [15][16]In January 2001, the government
introduced FWP(Food for Work Programme) similar to the one that was initiated in 1977. Once NREGA was enacted, the two were merged in 2006. [17] On 25 September 2001 to converge employment generation, infrastructure development and food security in rural areas, the government integrated EAS and JGSY into a new scheme SGRY. The role of PRIs was retained with the ‘Village Panchayats’
as the sole implementing authority. [18] Yet again due to implementation issues, it was merged with Mahatma Gandhi NREGA in 2006. [19]The total government allocation to these precursors of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA had been about three- quarters of ₹1 trillion (US$14 billion).
According to the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007–12), the number of Indians living on less than $1 a day, called Below Poverty Line (BPL), was 300 million that
barely declined over the last three decades ranging from 1973 to 2004, although their proportion in the total population decreased from 36 per cent (1993–94) to 28 percent (2004–05), [21] and the rural working class dependent on agriculture was unemployed for nearly 3 months per year. [22] The UPA Government had planned to increase the number of working days from100 to 150 before the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections in the country but failed. [23] The NDA government has decided to
provide 150 days for rain hit areas. [24] The registration process involves an application to the Gram Panchayat and issue of job cards. The wage employment must be provided within 15 days of the date of application. The work entitlement of ‘120 days per household per year’ may be shared between different adult members of the same household. [25]The law also lists permissible works: water conservation and water harvesting; drought proofing including afforestation;
irrigation works; restoration of traditional water bodies; land development; flood control; rural connectivity; and works notified by the government. The Act sets a minimum limit to the wage-material ratio as 60:40. The provision of accredited engineers, worksite facilities and a weekly report on worksites is also mandated by the Act. [26] Furthermore, the Act sets a minimum limit to the wages, to be paid with gender equality, either on a time-rate basis or on apiece-rate basis. The states are required to evolve a set of norms for the measurement of works and schedule of rates. Unemployment allowance must be paid if the work is not provided within the statutory limit of 15 days. [27] The law stipulates Gram Panchayats to have a single bank account for NREGA works which shall be subjected to public scrutiny.
To promote transparency and accountability, the act mandates ‘monthly squaring of accounts’. [28] To ensure public accountability through public vigilance, the NREGA designates ‘social audits’ as key to its implementation. [29]The most detailed part of the Act (chapter 10 and 11) deals with transparency and
accountability that lays out role of the state, the public vigilance and, above all, the
social audits. [30] For evaluation of outcomes, the law also requires management of data and maintenance of records, like registers related to employment, job cards, assets, muster rolls and complaints, by the implementing agencies at the village, block and state level. [31] The legislation specifies the role of the state in ensuring transparency andaccountability through upholding the right to information and disclosing information proactively, preparation of annual reports by the Central Employment Guarantee Council for the Parliament and State Employment
Guarantee Councils for state legislatures, undertaking mandatory financial audits by each district along with physical audit, taking action on audit reports,
developing a Citizen's Charter, establishing vigilance and monitoring committees, and developing a grievance redressal system. The Act recommends establishment of ‘Technical Resource Support Groups’ atdistrict, state and central level and active use of Information Technology, like creation of a ‘Monitoring and Information System (MIS)’ and a NREGA website, to assure quality in implementation of NREGA through technical support. [33] The law allows convergence of NREGA with other programmes. As NREGA intends to create
‘additional’ employment, the convergence should not affect employment provided by other programmes.
The law and the Constitution of India
The Act aims to follow the Directive Principles of State Policy enunciated in Part IV of the Constitution of India. The law by providing a 'right to work' is consistent with Article 41 that directs the State to secure to all citizens the right to The
Constitution of India – India's fundamental and supreme law.work. [35] The statute also seeks to protect the environment through rural works [36] which is consistent with Article 48A that directs the State to protect the environment. [37] In
accordance with the Article 21 of the Constitution of India that guarantees the right to life with dignity to every citizen of India, this act imparts dignity to the rural people through an assurance of livelihood security. [38] The Fundamental Right enshrined in Article 16 of the Constitution of India guarantees equality of
opportunity in matters of public employment and prevents the State from discriminatingagainst anyone in matters of employment on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, place of residence or any of them.
[39] NREGA also follows Article 46 that requires the State to promote the interests of and work for the economic uplift of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and protect them from discrimination and exploitation. [40] Article 40 mandates the State to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-
government. [41] Conferring theprimary responsibility of implementation on Gram Panchayats, the Act adheres to this constitutional principle. Also the process of decentralization initiated by 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India that granted a constitutional status to the Panchayats [42] is further reinforced by the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA that endowed these rural self-government institutions with authority to implement the law.
Academic research has focused on many dimensions of the NREGA: economic security, self-targeting, women's empowerment, asset creation, corruption, how the scheme impacts agricultural wages. An early overall assessment in the north Indian states suggested that NREGA was "making a difference to the lives of the rural poor, slowly but surely." [44] Self-targeting evidence suggests that though there is a lot of unmet demand for work. Another fundamental objective of NREGA was to improve the bargaining power of labour who often faced exploitative market
conditions. Several studies have found that agricultural wages have increased
significantly, especially for women, since the inception of the scheme. This indicates that overall wage levels have increased due to the act, however, further research highlights that the key benefit of the scheme lies in the reduction of wage volatility. [50] This highlights that NREGA may be an effective insurance scheme.
Ongoing research efforts try to evaluate the overall welfare effects of the scheme; a particular focus has been to understand whether the scheme has reduced migration into urban centres for casual work.
Another important aspect of NREGA is the potential for women's empowerment by providing opportunities for paid work, as well as mechanisms to ensure equal pay for equal work. One third of all employment is reserved for women, and there is a provision for equal wages to men and women, provision for child care Women employed under NREGA for de-silting a tankfacilities at the worksite - these are three important provisions for women in the Act. [52] More recent studies have suggested that women's participation has remained high, though there are inter- state variations. [53] One study in border villages of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat studied the effect on short term migration and child welfare. [54] and found that among children who do not migrate, grade completed is higher. The study found that demand for NREGA work is higher, even though migrant wages are higher. [55] Over the last decade, it has been observed that more than half the NREGA funds havebeen spent on water related projects. This was very much needed because water bodies have been shrinking, especially in rural India. India became a water deficient nation 5 years ago, and every year since then, the water level has shrunk further.
Though over Rs 20,000 crores under MGNREGA has been spent each year during the last decade on developing rural water bodies, wells, aquifers, catchment areas, etc, these were not permanent assets. There have not been too many detailed
studies on asset creation. A few studies focusing on the potential for assetcreation under NREGA suggest that (a) the potential is substantial; (b) in some places, it is being realized, and (c) lack of staff, especially technical staff, rather than lack of material are to blame for poor realization of this potential. [56][57] Others have pointed out that water harvesting and soil conservation works promoted through NREGA "could have high positive results on environment security and
biodiversity and environment conservation" [58] A study conducted by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science and other collaborators attempts to quantify the environmental and socio-economicbenefits of works done through the NREGA [59] Corruption in government programmes has remained a serious concern, and NREGA has been no exception. According to recent estimates, wage corruption in NREGA has declined from about 50% in 2007-8 to between 4-30% in 2009-10.
[60] Much of this improvement is attributable to the move to pay NREGA wages through bank and post office accounts. [61] Some of the success in battling corruption can also be attributed to the strong provisions for community
monitoring. [62] Others find that "the overall social audit effects onreducing easy- to-detect malpractices was mostly absent". [63] A few papers also study the link between electoral gains and implementation of NREGA. One studies the effect in Andhra Pradesh - the authors find that "while politics may influence programme expenditure in some places and to a small extent, this is not universally true and does not undermine the effective targeting and good work of the scheme at large."
[64] The two other studies focus on these links in Rajasthan [65] and West Bengal.
[66] Several local case studies are also beingconducted to identify the regional impacts of NREGA.
Assessment of the act by the constitutional auditor
The second performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India covered 3,848 gram panchayats (GPs) in 28 states and 4 union territories (UTs) from April 2007 to March 2012. [68] This comprehensive survey by the CAG documents lapses in implementation of the act. [69][70] The main problems identified in the audit included: a fall in the level of employment, low rates of completion of …works (only 30.3 per cent of planned works had been completed), poor planning (in one-third of Gram Panchayats, the planning process mandated by the act had not been followed), lack of public awareness partly due to poor
information, education and communication IEC) by the state governments, shortage of staff (e.g., Gram Rozgar Sewaks had not been appointed in some states) and so on. Not withstanding the statutory requirement of notification, yet five states had not even notified the eight-years-old scheme. The comprehensive assessment of the performance of the law by theconstitutional auditor revealed serious lapses arising mainly due to lack of public awareness, mismanagement and institutional incapacity. The CAG also suggested some corrective measures.
Even though the mass social audits have a statutory mandate of Section 17 (As outlined in Chapter 11 of the NREGA Operational Guidelines), only seven states Major recommendations of the CAG audit on MGNREGAhave the institutional capacity to facilitate the social audits as per prescribed norms. [73] Although the Central Council is mandated to establish a central evaluation and monitoring system as per the NREGA Operational Guidelines, even after six years it is yet to fulfill the NREGA directive. Further, the CAG audit reports discrepancies in the maintenance of prescribed basic records in up to half of the gram panchayats (GPs) which inhibits the critical evaluation of the NREGA outcomes. The unreliability of
Management Information System (MIS), due to significant disparity between thedata in the MIS and the actual official documents, is also reported.
To increase public awareness, the intensification of the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities is recommended. To improve management of outcomes, it recommended proper maintenance of records at the gram panchayat (GP) level. Further the Central Council is recommended to establish a central evaluation and monitoring system for "a national level, comprehensive and independent evaluation of the scheme". The CAG also recommends a
timelypayment of unemployment allowance to the rural poor and a wage material ratio of 60:40 in the NREGA works. Moreover, for effective financial
management, the CAG recommends proper maintenance of accounts, in a uniform format, on a monthly basis and also enforcing the statutory guidelines to ensure transparency in the disposal of funds. For capacity building, the CAG recommends an increase in staff hiring to fill the large number of vacancies. For the first time, the CAG also included a survey of more than 38,000 NREGA beneficiaries. An earlier evaluation of the NREGA by the CAG was criticized for its methodology.
Evaluation of the law by the government
Ex-Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh released an anthologys of research studies on the MGNREGA called "MGNREGA Sameeksha" in New Delhi on 14 July 2012, about a year before the CAG report. [78] Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey said that "the MGNREGA Sameeksha is a significant innovation to evaluate policy and delivery". [79] The anthology draws on …independent assessments of
MGNREGA conducted by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and others in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published from 2008 to 2012. [80] The Prime Minister said: The Mahatma Gandhi NREGA story in numbers is a story worth
telling... the scheme scores high on inclusivness...no welfare scheme in recent memory has caught theimagination of the people as much as NREGA has ... under which ₹1,10,000 crore (about USD$25 billion) have been spent to pay wages to 1,200 crore (12 billion) people.
1. Since its inception in 2006, around ₹1,10,000 crore (about USD$25 billion) has gone directly as wage payment to rural households and 1200 crore (12 billion) person-days of employment has beengenerated. On an average, 5 crore (50 million) households have been provided employment every year since 2008.
2. Eighty per cent of households are being paid directly through bank/post office accounts, and 10 crore (100 million) new bank/post office accounts have been opened.
3. The average wage per person-day has gone up by81 per cent since the Scheme’s inception, with state-level variations. The notified wage today varies from a
minimum of ₹122 (USD$1.76) in Bihar, Jharkhand to ₹191 (USD$2.76) in Haryana.
4. Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) have accounted for 51 per cent of the total person-days generated and women for 47 per cent, well above themandatory 33 per cent as required by the Act.
5. 146 lakh (14.6 million) works have been taken up since the beginning of the programme, of which about 60 per cent have been completed.
6. 12 crore (120 million) Job Cards (JCs) have been given and these along with the 9 crore (90 million) muster rolls have been uploaded on the Management
Information System (MIS), available for public scrutiny. Since 2010–11, all details with regard to the expenditure of the MGNREGA are available on the MIS in the public domain.
Entrepreneurship:
Meaning of Entrepreneur
The entrepreneur is defined as someone who has the ability and desire to establish, administer and succeed in a startup venture along with risk entitled to it, to make profits. The best example of entrepreneurship is the starting of a new business venture. The entrepreneurs are often known as a source of new ideas or innovators, and bring new ideas in the market by replacing old with a new invention.
It can be classified into small or home business to multinational companies. In economics, the profits that an entrepreneur makes is with a combination of land, natural resources, labour and capital.
In a nutshell, anyone who has the will and determination to start a new company and deals with all the risks that go with it can become an Entrepreneur.
It is classified into the following types:
Small Business Entrepreneurship-
These businesses are a hairdresser, grocery store, travel agent, consultant,
carpenter, plumber, electrician, etc. These people run or own their own business and hire family members or local employee. For them, the profit would be able to feed their family and not making 100 million business or taking over an industry.
They fund their business by taking small business loans or loans from friends and family.
Scalable Startup Entrepreneurship-
This start-up entrepreneur starts a business knowing that their vision can change the world. They attract investors who think and encourage people who think out of the box. The research focuses on a scalable business and experimental models, so, they hire the best and the brightest employees. They require more venture capital to fuel and back their project or business.
Large Company Entrepreneurship-
These huge companies have defined life-cycle. Most of these companies grow and sustain by offering new and innovative products that revolve around their main products. The change in technology, customer preferences, new competition, etc., build pressure for large companies to create an innovative product and sell it to the new set of customers in the new market. To cope with the rapid technological changes, the existing organisations either buy innovation enterprises or attempt to construct the product internally.
Social Entrepreneurship-
This type of entrepreneurship focuses on producing product and services that
resolve social needs and problems. Their only motto and goal is to work for society and not make any profits.
Characteristics of Entrepreneurship:
● Not all entrepreneurs are successful; there are definite characteristics that make entrepreneurship successful. A few of them are mentioned below:
● Ability to take a risk- Starting any new venture involves a considerable amount of failure risk. Therefore, an entrepreneur needs to be courageous and able to evaluate and take risks, which is an essential part of being an entrepreneur.
● Innovation- It should be highly innovative to generate new ideas, start a company and earn profits out of it. Change can be the launching of a new product that is new to the market or a process that does the same thing but in a more efficient and economical way.
● Visionary and Leadership quality- To be successful, the entrepreneur should have a clear vision of his new venture. However, to turn the idea into reality, a lot of resources and employees are required. Here, leadership quality is paramount because leaders impart and guide their employees towards the right path of success.
● Open-Minded- In a business, every circumstance can be an opportunity and used for the benefit of a company. For example, Paytm recognised the
gravity of demonetization and acknowledged the need for online transactions would be more, so it utilised the situation and expanded massively during this time.
● Flexible- An entrepreneur should be flexible and open to change according to the situation. To be on the top, a businessperson should be equipped to embrace change in a product and service, as and when needed.
● Know your Product-A company owner should know the product offerings and also be aware of the latest trend in the market. It is essential to know if
the available product or service meets the demands of the current market, or whether it is time to tweak it a little. Being able to be accountable and then alter as needed is a vital part of entrepreneurship.
Importance of Entrepreneurship:
● Creation of Employment- Entrepreneurship generates employment. It
provides an entry-level job, required for gaining experience and training for unskilled workers.
● Innovation- It is the hub of innovation that provides new product ventures, market, technology and quality of goods, etc., and increase the standard of living of people.
● Impact on Society and Community Development- A society becomes greater if the employment base is large and diversified. It brings about changes in society and promotes facilities like higher expenditure on education, better sanitation, fewer slums, a higher level of homeownership. Therefore, entrepreneurship assists the organisation towards a more stable and high quality of community life.
● Increase Standard of Living- Entrepreneurship helps to improve the standard of living of a person by increasing the income. The standard of living means, increase in the consumption of various goods and services by a household for a particular period.
● Supports research and development- New products and services need to be researched and tested before launching in the market. Therefore, an
entrepreneur also dispenses finance for research and development with research institutions and universities. This promotes research, general construction, and development in the economy.
