MGNREGA, 2005
The Right to Work Framework
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (notified September 7, 2005; implemented February 2006) was a landmark social legislation that created a statutory, demand-driven right to wage employment in rural India. It was the world's largest employment guarantee programme.
- Section 3 of MGNREGA: Guaranteed at least 100 days of unskilled manual wage employment per rural household per financial year — a legally enforceable right, not a discretionary benefit.
- Section 7: If work was not provided within 15 days of demand, the state was obligated to pay an unemployment allowance, creating a fiscal incentive for compliance.
- Wage payments to be made on a weekly basis or within a fortnight of work done (Section 3(3)).
- Funding model: Wages were 100% centrally funded; material and administrative costs were shared (Centre: State in 60:40 ratio, and 90:10 for NE states).
- Constitutional basis: Article 41 (DPSP) — "The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work."
- Beneficiaries: Any adult member of a rural household willing to do unskilled manual work could apply.
● Tracked since May 07, 2026 · last seen August 18, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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