Skip to main content

MGNREGA: A scheme that changing the face of Rural India

Image

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) enacted by legislation on September 7, 2005, and it was renamed as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on 2nd October 2009. An Act to provide for the enhancement of livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment for each worker who volunteers for unskilled labour in every financial year. Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act(MGNREGA) 2005, is Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'.

         MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). The involvement of contractors is banned. Apart from providing economic security and creating rural assets, NREGA can help in protecting the environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration and fostering social equity, among others. There are currently 13.77 crore job card(JC) holders registered under MGNREGA. Among this 7.69 crore are active JC holders(2020). The central government pays for 100% of the wage and 75% of the material expenditure under this scheme. 

            Assuming the average daily wage rate of Rs 202.39 for 2020-21, for 100 days of employment. It would mean a payment of more than Rs 2.79 lakh crore should all the registered JC holders seek work. The government of India allocated Rs 60000 crore in the financial budget 2020-21 under this scheme. The government will now allocate an additional Rs 40000 crore under MGNREGA(COVIDRelief-Package). 

The law also lists permissible works: water conservation and water harvesting; drought proofing; irrigation works; restoration of traditional water bodies; land development; flood control; rural connectivity; and works notified by the government.

Women's Empowerment: The empowerment of rural women is crucial for the development of rural Bharat. In the words “empowering women is a precondition for creating a good nation, when women are empowered, a society with stability is assured”. The MGNREGA has a positive impact on the empowerment and employment pattern of women in recent years.MGNREGA consist of at least one-third of persons to whom work is allotted has to be women. It aims at enhancing livelihood security by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household, especially for women. MGNREGA has become a powerful instrument for women empowerment in rural India through its effect on livelihood security and democratic governance and social protections Wage equality for men and women helps to reduce the gender difference to some extent. 

Effect on Migration:  One of the objectives of the MGNREGA is to reduce distress migration. The MGNREGA will have a significant positive impact on seasonal rural-urban migrations by providing employment to rural workers during the lean season. This will reduce the problem of excessive population pressures in Indian cities as surplus rural labour will find employment in their own districts. The MGNREGA may also have an impact on permanent migrations trends. It would perhaps never be possible to contain migration; however, schemes like MGNREGS have the potential to reduce distress migration.

Impact on Economic Development: Economic development refers to increases in the standard of living of a nation’s population associated with sustained growth from a simple, low-income economy to a modern, high-income economy. Its scope includes the process and policies by which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-being of its people. This section is trying to bring out the impact of MGNREGA scheme on various important attributes which contribute to the enhancement of quality of life such as-                                                                

(1). income levels before and after the scheme in vogue,

           (2).  a shift in means of livelihood, 

           (3).  a shift in expenditure pattern on food items after income generation through the present scheme, 

          (4). expenditure pattern on non-food items before and after the implementation of the scheme.

Impact on Poverty: The Act targeted the growth and development of the economy with the aims of poverty reduction among the rural people through employment generation. The Act not only says about employment generation but guarantees all the rural people for at least 100 days.

          In this pandemic of Covid-19, it could see a surge in the number of people seeking work under MGNREGA. Because of the return of several migrant labourers from the urban areas to their villages, after COVID-19 induced lockdown that resulted in widespread job losses. 

           The above observations indicate that the role of the MGNREGA on overall poverty reduction and development of rural India is visible. Rural development is the need of the hour. It not only constitutes the development of rural regions but also aims at improving the well-being and quality of life to the rural poor through the collective process. It is clear from the review that though this programme is meant for improving the living conditions of the people in rural settings but this programme suffers from a number of shortcomings. There were deficiencies in the approval and release of funds by the ministry. The ministry needs to take decisive steps to ensure proper implementation of the scheme. 



By

Comments

Post a Comment

If you have any doubts please let me know.

Popular posts from this blog

URBANIZATION: Causes and Effect of Urbanization in india, Major Problems of Urbanisation in India and their Solutions

By
Urbanization is a process whereby populations move from rural to urban areas, enabling cities and towns to grow. It can also be termed as a progressive increase in the number of people living in towns and cities.  In the present global atmosphere, all nations undergo the challenges of the environment, social, transportation, Economy in their respective cities. These issues commonly occurred in developing countries due to the difference in development in cities and villages. Most countries focus on the development of cities instead of rural areas. Consequently, the urban areas are equipped with infrastructure, public facilities as well as provide employment opportunities compared to the rural areas. Therefore inhabitants are more attracted to migrate in cities to avail hi-tech facilities, enhance their lifestyles, and ultimately these activities raise numerous urbanization issues. The promise of jobs and prosperity, among other factors, pulls people to cities. Normally, urbaniza
Post a Comment
Read more

Anthropology: Meaning, Scope and Development of Anthropology, Types of Anthropology

By
Anthropology is the scientific study of humans, human behavior, and societies in the past and present. The word “anthropology” has been derived from two Greek words, Anthropos (man) and Logus (study or science) . Anthropology is, thus, the science of man. Anthropology may be called “the science of man and his works and behavior” . Anthropology means a study of all aspects of humankind at all levels of developments in any and every part of the world, both past and the present”. It aims to understand what is universal, general, and specific to the biological, cultural, and social aspects of humankind. Anthropology concerns us primarily with our own lives. It is no longer a vague study or a study without a portfolio. It is a well-defined science that tells us about the various aspects of the life of man, which is both physical and cultural, from the time of his origin till the present day. It embraces a vast field of study which views man from different angles. Anthropology is probably t
Post a Comment
Read more

SECULARISM, What are the advantages and disadvantages of India as a secular country?

By
SECULARISM, the term first used by the British writer George Holyoake in 1851. Holyoake invented the term secularism to describe his views of promoting a social order separate from religion, without actively criticizing religious belief. Secularism draws its intellectual roots from Greek and Roman philosophers such as Zeno of Citium and Marcus Aurelius . A major impact on the idea of state religious liberty came from the writings of John Locke who, in his A Letter Concerning Toleration, argued in favor of religious toleration. He argued that the government must treat all citizens and all religions equally and that it can restrict actions, but not the religious intent behind them. With the 42'nd Amendment of the Constitution of India enacted in 1976, the Preamble to the Constitution asserted that India is a secular nation . Officially, secularism has always inspired modern India. In practice, unlike Western nations of secularism, India's secularism does not s
Post a Comment
Read more

Land Reforms in India after Independence: History and Status

By
Land reform usually refers to the redistribution of land from the rich to the poor . More broadly, it includes regulation of ownership, operation, leasing, sales, and inheritance of land. The land is precious for any country and used by people for productivity and as a source of food, for a place to live, for wood, for a place to work. Not surprisingly, it received top priority on the policy agenda at the time of Independence. In the decades following independence, India passed a significant body of land reform legislation.  At the time of independence ownership of land was concentrated in the hands of a few. This led to the exploitation of the farmers and was a major barrier towards the socio-economic development of the rural population. Equal distribution of land was therefore an area of focus of Independent India's government. Laws for the land ceiling were enacted in various states during the 50s & 60s which were modified on the directives of the central government in 19
Post a Comment
Read more

The Structure & Nature of traditional Indian Social System | Varnashram, Purushartha, Karma, Rina | Features

By
Since ancient times, the social structure of traditional Indian society has been based mainly on the hereditary principle. The members were divided into hereditary caste groups, each caste with its traditional occupation. The actions of any individual in ancient Indian society were inherently structured on a normative, teleological socio-cultural group pattern. The normative structure consisted of Purushartha-Dharm, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. A person in this scheme of life was expected to behave in a pattern laid out for a religious sect and caste and achieve the goal of self-realization. This ideology of Indian society was followed in the ancient period through a synthesis of the system described in the Gita, the Smritis, and Arthasastra. This was, in fact, the model of Sanatan Dharm, the eternal religion. Social Structure of Indian Society: Social structure denotes the network of social relationships. The social relationship is created among the individuals when they interact with eac
Post a Comment
Read more