MGNREGS Employment and Funding Update
Ministry of Rural Development Responds to Employment Dip Reports
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has addressed reports of a 16% decrease in employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for the first half of the current year. The Ministry clarified that the scheme is well-funded and adaptable to meet varying rural labor demands.
Employment Generation and Funding
Since its inception, MGNREGS has generated 2,923 crore person-days from FY 2014-15 to FY 2024-25, a significant increase from the 1,660 crore person-days between FY 2006-07 and FY 2013-14. The scheme’s demand-driven nature allows states and union territories to request additional labor budgets as needed.
Payment Transparency and Job Card Verification
The Ministry emphasized the role of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and Aadhaar-based payments in ensuring transparency. Currently, 99.3% of active workers have completed Aadhaar seeding. In cases of payment failures, the National Automated Clearing House (NACH) provides an alternative. Job cards are deactivated only after thorough verification, with 32.28 lakh cards deleted in FY 2024-25.
Monitoring and Budget Allocation
The National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) captures real-time attendance at worksites, with 95.66% attendance recorded for FY 2024-25. The scheme’s budget has increased to Rs 86,000 crore for FY 2024-25, the highest since its inception, with a 7% rise in the average minimum wage for workers.
Doubts Revealed
MGNREGS -: MGNREGS stands for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. It is a program in India that provides jobs to rural people, ensuring they have work and earn money.
Ministry of Rural Development -: The Ministry of Rural Development is a part of the Indian government that focuses on improving the lives of people living in villages and rural areas by providing jobs, building roads, and other development activities.
16% employment dip -: A 16% employment dip means that there was a decrease in the number of jobs provided by 16%. This means fewer people got work compared to before.
2,923 crore person-days -: A person-day is one day of work for one person. 2,923 crore person-days means that the scheme provided work for a huge number of days, showing how much work was given to people over the years.
FY 2014-15 to FY 2024-25 -: FY stands for Financial Year, which is a year used for accounting and budget purposes. FY 2014-15 to FY 2024-25 means from the financial year starting in 2014 and ending in 2025.
Direct Benefit Transfer -: Direct Benefit Transfer is a way the government sends money directly to people’s bank accounts, making sure they get the money without any middlemen.
Aadhaar-based payments -: Aadhaar-based payments use a unique identification number called Aadhaar to make sure the right person gets the money. It helps in verifying the identity of the person receiving the payment.
Aadhaar seeding -: Aadhaar seeding is the process of linking a person’s Aadhaar number with their bank account or job card to ensure they receive benefits directly.
Rs 86,000 crore -: Rs 86,000 crore is a large amount of money, where ‘Rs’ stands for Indian Rupees. It shows how much money the government has set aside for the scheme in the financial year 2024-25.
7% wage rise -: A 7% wage rise means that the amount of money workers earn for their work has increased by 7%, allowing them to earn more than before.
Job cards -: Job cards are like identity cards given to people who want to work under the MGNREGS. They help in keeping track of who is working and how much work they have done.
deactivation -: Deactivation means stopping something from being active. In this context, it means stopping a job card from being used if it is not verified or needed anymore.
