MGNREGS demand hits a 23-month high in June: Report
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) hit a 23-month high in June, a report by Business Standard has stated. As per the report, June month saw about 33.72 million which is 3.37 crore household seeking to opt for MGNREGS.
The report added that this rise comes as a result of insufficient rainfall during the early southwest monsoon season and general weakness in rural recovery that pushed up the demand. Prior to this, the other two times when the number of households availing MGNREGS crossed 3 crore was in May 2020 which was at 3.3 crore and in June 2020 which was at 3.89 crore, Indian Express has reported. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is a flagship scheme aimed at enhancing livelihood security of households in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
On 6 July, Department of Economic Affairs under Ministry of Finance in its monthly review report had stated that an increase in MSP for rabi and kharif crops, a hike in fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane and a rise in the MGNREGS wage rate are expected to improve the financial security of rural households further and boost rural demand. Meanwhile, the rural development ministry had asked states to organise camps and follow-up with beneficiaries to achieve 100 per cent coverage under under the mandatory Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS).
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