Job crisis signal

Young people opting for MGNREGA work is worrying

The Indian economy is in the midst of a severe slowdown and the data suggests that a sharp recovery in the near term is unlikely. Apart from the lead indicators such as vehicle sales, which tend to grab headlines, developments on the ground are also not encouraging. An increase in the number of young workers lining up for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a case in point. As a recent report in The Indian Express showed, the number of workers employed in the age group of 18-30 under the MGNREGA reached 7.07 million