Demand for work under MGNREGA rise 48.8% in April: Report

The demand for work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act witnessed an increase by 48.8% in April 2024 month-on-month. As per ministry of rural development data accessed by Moneycontrol, as many as 301.8 lakh people demanded work in the particular month under the scheme.

“Sequentially, the demand for work under MGNREGA increased sharply by 48.8% in April 2024,” National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) monthly economic review stated in its report

Demand for work rise

When compared on yearly basis, the demand for work under the scheme increased 3.9% in April. Rs 86,000 crore is allocated for the scheme for FY25.

The Moneycontrol report also noted that as per Periodic Labour Force Survey for the quarter of January-March 2024, all-India urban unemployment rate declined. While the Naukri JobSpeak Index moderated year-on-year, sectors like travel and hospitality, banking, retail and IT services showed an increase in hiring activities.

The number of net new subscribers under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) increased year-on-year while the demand under MGNREGA also increased.

MGNREGA scheme

MGNREGA provides guaranteed wage employment for 100 days in a financial year to rural households whose adult members are willing to take up manual work. This rural-job plan is a demand driven scheme that was passed by the Parliament in August 2005 and was implemented in February 2006 in the country’s poorest districts.

In the past decade, Rs 8 lakh crore has been spent on the MGNREGA scheme. The employment guarantee scheme generated 3 billion person-days of work last year.

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