For several organisations and individuals associated with the employment guarantee programme, the writing has long been on the wall.
BY N.K. Bhoopesh 9 January 2026
The most significant change concerns the guarantee of 100 days of employment. Under the G-RAM-G, work is now increasingly connected to government targets, budgets and notified areas.
BY Md Asghar Khan 9 January 2026
Social scientist and welfare economist Jean Drèze says the government is promising jobs without guaranteeing work. The BJP-led government has not merely rebranded MGNREGA. What was an enforceable right to work, driven by workers’ demand and backed by the Centre’s obligation to fund it, has been recast as a discretionary, centrally controlled scheme with budget caps, blackout periods and political gatekeeping.
BY Ashlin Mathew 2 January 2026
The proposed replacement of MNREGA reflects the convergence of political priorities, ideological positions, and fiscal calculations.
BY N.K. Bhoopesh 17 December 2025
The Jnanpith Award-winning writer spoke about the urgent need to pay attention to history and ecology, stressing that “the world is full of wonder and you have to look out for the unknown.”
BY Vineetha Mokkil 9 January 2026