Demand for work under MGNREGS hits a 23-month high in June, shows data

Nearly 33.72 million households sought work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The demand hit a 23-month high in June, as low rain in the initial part of southwest monsoon season, coupled with general weakness in rural recovery pushed up demand.

Seasonally, the demand for MGNREGS is among the highest during April to June due to adequate availability of funds and absence of any tangible work from other areas but continued rise in demand, coupled with other indicators prompted several commentators to question if the benefits of economic recovery post Covid is actually trickling down.

As far as monsoon is concerned, southwest monsoon has, since the middle of June, picked up much pace but there have been states where the deficiency is still large enough to pull down acreage of many kharif crops.