11% fewer households demanded work under MGNREGA this April, shows data

In April 2021, 26.18 million households had sought work under the scheme while in April 2020, the number was 13.41 million

Indicating a turnaround in the employment situation in rural areas, the number of households seeking work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in April was 11.15 per cent lower than in the equivalent month last year.

However, the data also reve­als that compared to pre-pandemic years, a disproportionately large number of people — 23.26 million households in April — are still seeking work under the MGNREGA.

This, some economists said, also reflects that though rural economic activities are improving largely in the non-farm sector, they have still not returned to the pre pandemic levels.

In April 2021, 26.18 million