Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) is a job guarantee scheme for rural Indians. It was enacted by legislation on 5 September 2005. The scheme provides a legal guarantee for at least 150 days of paid employment in every financial year to adult members of any family willing to do unskilled manual work related to public works at the statutory minimum wages of Rs.181 per day. If they fail to do so, the government has to pay this salary at their homes.
India is the only country in the world which provides guaranteed job to rural adults. Several changes can be seen in India due to MNREGA. Doubtlessly, MNREGA has been working towards the alleviation of unemployment as well poverty from the country. Under this scheme, rural Indians have been engaged in unskilled jobs like watershed development program, water conservation, road construction, digging ponds, forest, conservation and plantation in their villages. Similarly, MNREGA also provides employment to the population of drought effected areas, inaccessible hilly areas where people are at the edge of starvation.
Dr. Swaminathan writes: The potential of employment in agriculture has become very low. So the Government should pay attention towords the development of non-agricultural fields and should make meaningful efforts to employ men there. In India MNREGA scheme has proved very profitable. Besides, it is also cooperating for the development of means of communication, medical facilities, education, etc.
Present Aspects of MNREGA:
Main aspects of MNREGA are given below:
1. The activities of the scheme have been expanded so that it might become more significant.
2. Electronic management system is used to pay the wages.
3. Extra 100 days per year paid work is provided in the drought effected regions.
4. To check the discrepencies in the employment records, it has been attached with Aadhar Card.
5. MNREGA has been attached to clean India Mission.
6. The paid wages under MNREGA are attached with CPI – AL so that the labourer might not face any pressure of inflation.
7. Social Audit System has been started in MNREGA.
Due to an increase in the income, the demand of agricultural products and other goods has increased and therefore demand of labour in other economic activities has also increased. And this has caused an increase in wages.
