Rush Hour: Lok Sabha passes bill to replace MGNREGA, Pranav Adani accused of insider trading & more

The Lok Sabha passed the 2025 Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill to replace the 2005 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act amid protests from the Opposition. It needs to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha before it is sent for presidential assent.

Opposition members stormed the well of the House, shouted slogans against the Union government for removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme. They tore up copies of the bill, forcing the Lok Sabha to be adjourned for the day.

MNREGA, introduced by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in 2004, guaranteed 100 days of unskilled work annually to rural households. The new legislation proposes increasing this to 125 days while also increasing the state’s share of funding to 40% – up from the current system where costs are borne by the Centre. Read on.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India alleged that Pranav Adani, the nephew of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani, violated insider trading norms by sharing unpublished price sensitive information about the Adani Group’s open offer for NDTV with close relatives, the Economic Times reported.

The market regulator issued show cause notices on October 15 to Pranav Adani, his brothers-in-law Kunal and Nrupal Shah and his father-in-law Dhanpal Shah. SEBI...

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