Presentation on-

National Rural Employment Guarantee

Act

MNREGA
Opportunities and Challenges

From-
Shail92
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)
overview

A step towards the right to work, as an aspect of the fundamental right to

live with dignity.

 Employment to all those who are willing to work(100 days)

 Free registration with a job guarantee within 15 days of
application.
 At least 1/3rd of the employees must be women

 Fixed minimum wage rate and no upper limit

 Legal right: entitlement to unemployment allowance
 Weekly disbursement of wages and delays not beyond a
fortnight
 Universal entitlement

Objectives of NREGA
a) Primary Objective: To provide a minimum livelihood (income) security
to the rural households.
b) Secondary objectives:
• To reduce distress migration;

• Creation of durable community assets in rural areas;

• Invigorating civic and community life and enlivening of PRIs;

• Empowerment of rural women;

• Overall development of the rural economy;

 • Promotion of inclusive growth and development; and

• Multiplier effects on the economy.

Minimum Wage
• A person working for 7 hours would normally earn a wage equal to
the wage rate(SchI(8))
• Minimum wage fixed by the state Government under the minimum
wage Act,1948;
• Centre may fix wages, at not less than Sixty rupees per day (6(1))
• The Act permits productivity−linked wages under piece rate, with due
protection

Unemployment allowances
If Employment is not provided within 15 days of receipt of application, the
worker shall be entitled to a daily Unemployment allowance(7(1))
Rates (7(2))
• For First 30 days One fourth of th wage rate.
• For the remaining period Not less than one half of
the of the Financial year the wage rate

• Employment wage + Unemployment Equal to the wages for

allowance 100 days of work
in a financial year (7(3d))

NREGA and Poverty Reduction

Potential: NREGA holds a huge promise for poverty reduction with a
supplementary average annual household income of Rs 6000. for this,
wages, work days and aggregate expenditure on the Scheme should be high
if the Programme has to make any significant dent on poverty. Creation of
social and economic infrastructure too would go a long way in reducing
poverty.
Achievements
• Major progresses after 2007
• Total corruption free implementation
• Participation of women
• Public works done by local peoples
• Importance give to natural resource management and environment
protection
• Setup of labour banks

Difficulties and challenges

• Realization of low persondays
• Regional variations in implementation
• Yet to become fully demand based
• Quality of assets in some cases
• Non-fulfilment of others entitlements
• Low level of quality awareness
• Poor capapcity of local institutions in some states
Prospects

• Right to work has entered into the imagination of the common man
• Complete political consensus
 • Resource constraint is no longer an argument
• Civil society playing very active role
Conclusion

• Teething trouble apart, the same forces of fiscal conservatism that

earlier tried to dilute the Act are now trying to curtail entitlements and
minimize expenditure
• However, the NREGA offers an unprecedented opportunity to initiate
broad-based growth through poverty reducing employment generation
and consequent demand expansion
• Therefore, the recent reports of mobilization and struggles by rural
workers for the full and proper implementation of the NREGA is good
news