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MGNREGS

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

MGNREGS (also called NREGA) is India's flagship employment guarantee scheme, providing a legal entitlement to wage employment.

Key details
  • Enacted under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005; operationalised February 2006
  • Entitlement: 100 days of guaranteed wage employment per financial year to any rural household whose adult members demand unskilled manual work
  • Wage payment: Linked to state-specific statutory minimum wage (or MGNREGA wage notification); payment within 15 days failing which workers receive compensation
  • Works covered: Durable asset creation — water conservation, drought-proofing, land development, roads, rural connectivity
  • Nodal ministry: Ministry of Rural Development
  • Employment generated: Typically 200-300 crore person-days per year; in drought/distress years, this rises sharply
  • Funding: 100% central funding for wages; 75% central + 25% state for material costs
In the news

Tracked since March 03, 2026 · last seen June 13, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes

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