The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has witnessed an unprecedented surge in demand for work from households, reaching a nine-year high in 2019-20. The shift in numbers presents a multifaceted scenario, involving the highest number of households seeking MGNREGA work since 2010-11 and an increased number of individuals working under the programme.
Increased Demand and Participation
The MGNREGA official portal reveals that as many as 5.47 crore households sought work under this rural employment scheme, marking the highest figure since 2010-11 when the number of households amounted to 5.5 crore. Additionally, more individuals also partook in MGNREGA in 2019-20, with 7.86 crore employed at various sites across the country, the highest number since 2012-13, when 7.97 crore individuals worked under the program.
Impact of Coronavirus Lockdown on MGNREGA
Contrarily, the disruption caused by the coronavirus lockdown may affect the final figure of person days generated in March 2020. With gram panchayats recording declining MGNREGA expenditures, it is clear that an increasing number of panchayats are employing MGNREGA as a means of providing unskilled work to the unemployed.
MGNREGA and GDP Growth Rate
Interestingly, these growing MGNREGA figures coincide with the sharp fall in the GDP growth rate to 5% in 2019-2020, registering the lowest in a decade. The surge in demand for work under MGNREGA seems unwavering, despite flattening wages in recent years. For instance, in 2019-20, the average MGNREGA wage per day per person was Rs 182.09, a marginal increase of Rs 3 than Rs 179.13 in 2018-19.
Changes in Person Days and Central Funding
Furthermore, data indicates that 263.73 crore person days were generated during 2019-20, which is slightly lower than 267.96 crore in 2018-19, but significantly higher than the total person days generated each financial year from 2012-13 to 2017-18. On the fiscal front, the central government released Rs 72,162.13 crore for MGNREGA in 2019-20, a record-breaking amount, considerably higher than Rs 62,125.07 crore released in 2018-19.
About MGNREGA
Launched in 2005, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled work. The full cost of unskilled labour is borne by the central government, while 75% material cost is shared with the states. It’s a demand-driven, social security and labour law that enforces the ‘right to work’. The scheme is closely monitored by the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Government of India in association with state governments. Agriculture and allied activities form over 65% of the works undertaken under this programme. Social inclusion, gender parity, social security, and equitable growth are the foundational principles of MGNREGA.
