Centre spent Rs 5 lakh crore on MGNREGA scheme in 8 years: Nirmala Sitharaman
Hyderabad (PTI): The Centre has spent Rs 5 lakh crore on MGNREGA scheme during the past eight years, out of which 20 per cent was spent during the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said.
Speaking to reports in Kamareddy district of Telangana on Thursday, she said the state was given Rs 20,000 crore under the the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme in the past eight years.
"During the past eight years, Telangana received Rs 20,000 crore under MGNREGA. During the same period all over the country Rs 5 lakh crore has been spent, out of which more than 20 per cent was spent in 2020-21 during COVID-19 pandemic," she said replying to a query.
The important issue in this is survey teams will come (to any state) if there are any complaints that the money was not spent accordingly or there are any remarks in the audit report.
Referring to the allegations that survey teams are being sent to curtail the scheme, she said the survey teams will come to correct the anomalies, if any.
During the UPA regime there were several loopholes in the scheme and the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi corrected them and is implementing it through direct benefit transfer (DBT), she further said.
Slamming the TRS government in Telangana over alleged rising debt, farmers' distress and other issues, the Union minister said the state that used to be revenue surplus, has now gone into revenue deficit.
K Chandrashekar Rao's government was taking loans without showing them in the budget and without informing the state assembly, she claimed.
Farmers' debt is rampant in the state and it is ranked fourth in farmers' suicides, Sitharaman further said.
The minister also accused the TRS government of changing the names of central schemes and projecting them as the state's schemes.
On Thursday, she attended the meeting of district office-bearers, mandal presidents and karyakartas of Zaheerabad Parliamentary Constituency at Kamareddy town as part of 'Lok Sabha Pravas Yojana'.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
