MGNREGA work demand drops in July 2020 as labourers get jobs in farms

Despite the drop, however, demand is almost 71% more than July 2019

After seeing a surge in May and June, demand for work under Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) tapered a bit in July as casual labourers returned to work in farms for sowing kharif crops.

However, demand was still much higher compared to the previous years, underlining the scheme’s vital role in providing employment to the rural poor, a vast majority of whom are migrants.

Initial data, sourced from the MGNREGA website, shows that till July 31, around 31.5 million households had sought work under the scheme, which was almost 28 per cent less than the work demand in June.

But even