Welfare and schemes
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was one of the worst policies ever made by the United Progressive Alliance government. The aim of the policy may have been with good intentions, but its execution was very poor. The ‘terms and conditions’ of this policy should have been area-specific, by identifying the poorest people in remote areas in districts of States . Most rich districts in northern India should have been excluded. There are instances of people with a pucca house that is well furnished and with the latest gadgets, registered under the scheme, which is an example of the gross misutilisation of the state exchequer.
Mohinder Kumar Saharan,
Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan
It is a wonder how the ruling dispensation boasts that the VB-G Ram G Act will usher in ‘Ram Rajya’ to villages while the said new Act has been promulgated with the sole intention of depriving the poor and the needy of their livelihood. That State governments will also be forced to bear 40% of the cost of the new scheme will disturb the financial planning of State governments and affect the allocations made for other welfare schemes in their Budget.
Tharcius S. Fernando,
Chennai
What is being altered is not merely administrative design but also constitutional intent. MGNREGA embodied a secular, legal guarantee rooted in citizenship, decentralisation and justiciable entitlements. By recasting it as a centrally-sponsored, supply-driven scheme, the Bill weakens States, caps demand, and converts a right into discretionary benevolence.
Replacing Gandhiji’s name with “Ram” reframes welfare as cultural patronage rather than citizenship entitlement, blurring the constitutional boundary between state and religion. This mirrors a broader trend, from projecting state institutions under a Dharma Dhwaja to recoding welfare in religious symbolism. Development policies in India should not become a vehicle for ideological signalling.
Harsh Pawaria,
Rohtak, Haryana
The SHANTI Bill
The nuclear energy Bill is an instance where the Centre is acting in haste. The Bhopal gas tragedy still haunts the nation and a private airline created chaos recently. Privatisation and private parties will only see the pursuit of profit as the first goal. The Centre should have a broader debate.
Balasubramaniam Pavani,
Secunderabad
Published – December 19, 2025 12:24 am IST
