“GUARANTEED simple assurance is the reason the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has emerged as the world’s largest social safety net against rural unemployment. The demand for the scheme, designed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005, is such that budgetary allocation for MGNREGS has increased tenfold since it was first implemented in 200 districts—to ₹110,500 crore in 2020-21 from ₹12,000 crore in 2006-07. The past financial year saw a huge spike in expenditure due to the covid-19 pandemic: the ₹110,500 crore was spent against a budget allocation of R61,500 crore. As wage-earners returned to their villages from cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Panjim, Mangaluru and Bengaluru, MGNREGS came to the rescue of these workers. In Karnataka alone, the person-days of work generated during April-June 2020 were 44 million, compared to 36 million during the corresponding months in 2019. The number increased to 47.1 million during April-June 2021. In the absence of MGNREGS, gram panchayats would have found it challenging to deal with so many unemployed people in villages.
But MGNREGS does not provide only social safety nets. Over the years, it has also emerged as an invaluable vehicle for rural transformation and a significant support for local governments. Let’s understand the ways MGNREGS supports gram panchayats through the example of Karnataka.
This story is from the October 16, 2021 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 16, 2021 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
