Correct option is D
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), commonly referred to as the Rural Scheme Employment Guarantee, ensures 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to any rural household adult willing to perform unskilled manual work in a financial year. The scheme was launched in 2005 to provide social security and alleviate rural poverty through guaranteed employment.
Key Features
- Open to all rural households with adult members willing to work.
- Provides unskilled manual labor for public works like roads, canals, and water conservation.
- Ensures timely payment of wages within 15 days of work completion.
- Focuses on women participation, with a minimum of 33% workers being women.
- Promotes asset creation and sustainable rural development.
- Administered by the Ministry of Rural Development with decentralized implementation by Gram Panchayats.
Information Booster
- MGNREGA is the world's largest social security and public works program.
- It operates on a demand-driven model; employment must be provided within 15 days of a work request.
- Wages are linked to the state's minimum wage.
- Workers receive job cards, ensuring accountability and transparency.
- It has reduced rural migration to urban areas by providing local employment.
- Helps in soil conservation, afforestation, and rural infrastructure development.
Additional Knowledge
- National Rural Development Fellowship Scheme: Focuses on human resource capacity building in backward districts.
- Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana: Aims to skill rural youth for employment.
- National Rural Livelihood Mission: Targets poverty reduction through self-help groups and entrepreneurship.
- MGNREGA has positively impacted rural incomes and women’s empowerment.