Rajasthan records its highest ever employment under NREGA scheme

Livelihoods: As of March 17th 2021, 8.53 lakh households in Rajasthan had completed 100 days of work under the NREGA scheme. This is the highest level of employment under this scheme in the state, according to the state’s rural development department.

From April 2020 until now, 1.08 crore people and over 74 lakh families in Rajasthan have worked under NREGA. The state has generated 43.44 crore person days, with a total expenditure of INR 9,213 crore. This record number was primarily due to a huge demand for employment in light of the COVID-19 crisis. In all, 15.24 lakh families had already completed 81-99 days of work (as of March 17th, 2021) under the scheme and another 6.12 lakh households had completed 71-80 days of work.

According to Rohit Kumar Singh, the additional chief secretary of Rajasthan’s rural development department, “The migrant labourers who came to the state during the lockdown didn’t return to their previous workplace and got engaged in NREGA work here. The awareness among people to demand for work also increased after the launch of Pura Kaam, Pura Daam campaign.”

“The economic crisis and lack of employment have pushed them to poverty. Hence, some well-to-do families in rural areas opted for NREGA work. At least 50 percent of the 15.24 lakh families who have completed 81-99 days of work, will complete 100 days of work. This will make the overall number of families completing 100-day work around 12-14 lakh,” said PC Kishan, secretary of the department.

The average daily wage rate has increased from INR 164.38 in September 2020 to INR 168.82 in March 2021, after the launch of Pura Kaam, Pura Daam by the government in December 2020.

Read this article to know how the union budget fails to address the problem of rural unemployment.

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.