Covid-19 impact: Lockdown takes a toll on jobs generated through MNREGA

The lockdown imposed to check the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has spelt doom for jobs generated through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).

The jobs generated under the scheme fell to a nearly 7-year low for which the data is available. Only 30.78 million jobs were provided till April 29 in 2020-21 against a whopping 273.96 million in the corresponding period of the last financial year. In other words, 88.75 per cent less jobs were provided in the first month of 2019-20 year-on-year.

 

However, while comparing the data one should remember that jobs were given from April 15 this year due to the lockdown, so the numbers are not strictly comparable.
 

One should ideally halve the jobs provided in April last year for comparison on a pro-rata basis. That would see jobs generated this year falling by 77.53 per cent.