Work demand under MGNREGA job scheme increased by 4.2% in May, shows data

Around 28.32 million households sought work under the flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in May, which was 4.2 per cent more than the same month in the last financial year. Data shows that historically, May is a month when MGNREGA work demand is among the highest as traditional activities around agriculture weaken due to the lean cropping season. Sequentially, data shows that work demand in May this year is among the highest in the past eleven months.