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A frightening reality of MGNREGA Scheme has come to the fore. Wages given under the scheme are inadequate for survival. Payments are delayed. Denial of work is frequent. Funds are scarce. Rural workers’ miseries are multifold, though MGNREGA provides a legal right to work for the most economically disadvantaged sections of the rural population who are willing to work, as a last resort, when they have no other means of livelihood to feed their family members.

The central BJP leadership is quite scared of the growing unrest among Dalits, farmers and tribals across the country. RSS which so far has succeeded in setting the narrative for the development and empowerment of these classes, for the first time, finding itself moving in a bind. It is running short of ideas, as to what should be done to frustrate Rahul Gandhi’s onslaught.

MADRID: Spain’s left-wing Sumar held its second national conference on March 29–30, with its future already in doubt. In two recent polls, the junior partner in the country’s coalition government had lost over half its support since the 2023 general election (down from 12.3 percent to around 6). Even more worryingly, Público calculates that this would mean Sumar keeping only one-third of its seats — making it hard to see how one of Europe’s few broad-left governments could secure reelection.

In both foolhardiness in decision making and shameless flip-flop in dealing with disastrous aftermaths, Narendra Modi and Donald Trump have exhibited a total lack of honesty in admitting their mistakes. The similarity is too striking to be missed.

Two reports brought out recently by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation present puzzling data on employment and unemployment in 2024, and when read them together a doubly confusing scenario emerges regarding the ground realities. These two reports are – Key Employment Unemployment Indicators, PLFS, 2024 and Time Use in India, 2024.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Council of Ministers is full of tough cookies, from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who warned Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha that refusing to accept a law passed in Parliament would not be tolerated. Then, there is Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who put Pakistan on notice on the PoK issue, Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir, stating that Pakistan's PoK days are numbered.

Nitish Kumar who is credited with giving an identity to the Biharis in recent times ironically has fallen out of grace but it is indeed a dichotomy that he still continues to be the benign hope for BJP to retain the power. Incidentally Bihar is the only state in Hindi heartland where BJP has miserably failed to have a comfortable majority and come to power on its own.

The ongoing challenges faced by Indian Muslims extend beyond the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 2025, the legislation that replaces the Waqf Act of 1955. Central to their fight is the urgent need to uphold their right to live with dignity and to safeguard their religious, cultural, and customary practices.

US Deputy Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, recently visited Lebanon. During an interview with the LBCI news outlet, Ortagus stressed the importance of disarming Hezbollah. This statement from a senior US diplomat has sparked a new debate about the disarmament of Hezbollah, which has been demanded for a long time. In January this year, the Lebanese parliament elected a new president, former army chief Joseph Aoun.

LONDON: Trump’s 90-day tariff reprieve spells 90 days of geopolitical turbulence, US bullying and the threat of war. All three have been constant features of the period of US “unipolar” power, especially since the beginning of what even US presidents have termed the “forever wars.” But Trump’s aggression is global.