Training workshop in Udaipur

Dear friends,

Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has agreed to conduct a training workshop for activists working in "Food For Work" districts, with special focus on social audits of the FFW programme. This training will be held on 12-18 March 2005 in Udaipur. Participants are expected from Rajasthan, Sonebhadra (U.P.), Surguja (Chhattisgarh) and Palamau (Jharkhand), among other places. If you are interested, please let us know or write directly to MKSS at mkssrajasthan@gmail.com

This update is also to alert you to recent news of an urban employment guarantee act being formulated by the "National Commission on Enterprises in the Informal/Unorganized Sector" headed by Dr. Arjun Sengupta. According to recent media reports, the scheme is supposed to have a total budget of Rs. 10,000 crores and to involve a one-time expenditure of Rs. 10,000 per worker of which Rs. 6000 will be spent on wages and Rs. 4000 on training. The following news items (from 16 February, 2005) provide more details on the proposed scheme:

Calcutta Telegraph

Rediff.com

The Economic Times

Finally, here are links to some recent articles on the proposed Employment Guarantee Act (see also the latest issue of Economic and Political Weekly, with articles on EGA by Mihir Shah and T.S. Papola):

Anuradha Joshi (2005), "For effective employment guarantee", The Hindu, 8 February.
A.Vaidyanathan (2005), "Panchayats and employment guarantee", The Hindu, 15 February.