The proposal to rename the rural employment scheme, raise the number of guaranteed workdays and alter its cost-sharing structure has reignited debate over its implementation and intent
The Centre has proposed renaming MGNREGA as VB-RaM G, raising guaranteed workdays to 125 and shifting the funding pattern to 60:40, drawing criticism over diluted worker protections
The proposed change to rename MGNREGA has triggered political opposition, with the Congress objecting to dropping Mahatma Gandhi's name from one of India's largest rural welfare schemes
Cabinet clears Bill to rename MGNREGS as 'Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojana' and raise guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) accused the Union government on Saturday of "misleading" Parliament and claimed that the Centre owes West Bengal approximately Rs 52,000 crore under the flagship rural employment scheme, MGNREGA. At a press conference here, TMC's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Sagarika Ghose, and deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Satabdi Roy, emphasised that West Bengal was one of the top-performing MGNREGA states before funds were halted in March 2022. They highlighted that around 1.37 crore households are enrolled in the scheme, with about 70 lakh households receiving work each year. In written responses provided in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha this week, the Rural Development Ministry informed that the total pending liability for West Bengal under MGNREGA as of March 8, 2022, when the scheme was suspended, stands at Rs 3,082.52 crore. This includes Rs 1,457.22 crore for wages, Rs 1,607.68 crore for materials, and Rs 17.62 crore for administration. The TMC ...
The Centre has released Rs 68,393.67 crore to states and Union Territories so far under the flagship rural employment scheme MGNREGA, Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan said on Friday. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said Rs 57,853.62 crore has been released for the wage component by November 26 and Rs 10,540.05 crore for the material and admin components. The MGNREGA budget for the financial year 2025-26 was Rs 86,000 crore. The MoS also informed the House that pending liabilities for wage, material and admin components under the scheme by November 26 were Rs 10,127.58 crore. This includes Rs 1,687.27 crore under the wage component, Rs 8,008.48 crore for the material component and Rs 431.83 crore for the admin component. Among states, Andhra Pradesh has a pending wage liability of Rs 381.02 crore, material liability of Rs 530.45 crore and Rs 27.51 crore under the admin component. Besides, Rs 248.42 crore is pending under the wage component f
The incessant rains in rural parts of the country that continued in October as well made several work sites inaccessible for labourers and could have contributed to halting the field work
MGNREGA work demand fell 27.1% in September 2025, marking the third straight monthly decline, as kharif sowing, budget curbs and heavy rains reduced rural job uptake
The Rural Development and Jal Shakti ministries will allocate 65% of MGNREGA funds to over-exploited water blocks and 40% to semi-critical zones under a new water security plan
In the wake of rain-related disasters in several parts of Himachal Pradesh, the norms under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have been relaxed in the state, increasing the number of annual man-days from 100 to 150, officials said on Friday. The revised guidelines will be specially applicable in areas where disasters wreaked havoc. The Himachal Pradesh government has declared the entire state as calamity hit and as such it was natural that the demand under MGNREGA would be more. Keeping this in view, the Union Ministry of Agriculture, Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development has recommended an additional 50 days under MGNREGA, which has been approved, an official release said. The additional man-days would be generated with the consent of the state and the Central government and the work would start with the budget available for the projects already approved where additional labour would be engaged, wherever required, the release said. Since the onset of ...
While the civil society felt the drop could be due to a squeeze in funding with the Centre directing states to cap MGNREGA labour budget spending to 60 per cent in the first six months
Over several financial years, the data shows that Tamil Nadu has received and utilised more funds than many larger and poorer states
Kharif acreage was almost 11 per cent more than last year till June 30 while paddy acreage was nearly 48 per cent more than the same period last year
Even as both the TMC and the BJP claim 'victory' after the Calcutta HC's order on resumption of MGNREGA in the state, political fault lines are likely to widen before Assembly polls next year
The FY-26 Union Budget had allocated Rs 86,000 crore for the programme for 2025-26, which is exactly the same as the revised and budget estimates of FY-25
The Centre on Saturday sanctioned the release of Rs 2,102.24 crore to Bihar for the payment of the first installment of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for the financial year 2025-26. The amount will be used to pay the wages of MGNREGA labourers in the state. A letter to this effect was issued by the Union Ministry of Rural Development from New Delhi. Commenting on it, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said, "The development comes barely five days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bihar. The NDA government is committed to the welfare of MGNREGA workers. To pay the wages of MGNREGA labourers, the Centre has approved the release of Rs 2,102.24 crore as the first installment. We thank the PM for it." Out of the total sanctioned fund, Rs 411.47 crore will be distributed among SC labourers, Rs 438.9 for ST labourers and Rs 164 crore for Other Class workers. The arrears of MNREGA workers will also be paid after ..
According to data sourced from the MGNREGA website as on March 31, 2025 at 1400 hours' total expenditure on the scheme (this included due payment) in Fy-25 was around Rs 125,219 crore
The government on Tuesday said it has never discriminated against any state in the release of MGNREGA funds amid a protest by opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha against the alleged delay in payment to some states for the rural employment scheme. As the issue was raised during the Question Hour, the Lok Sabha witnessed protests with DMK and Trinamool Congress MPs entering the well of the House. Speaker Om Birla urged them to return to their seats, but they did not budge. Following this, the House was adjourned till 12 pm. Birla urged the Opposition not to "politicise" the questions raised during the Question Hour. Congress MP from Kerala Adoor Prakash highlighted a decline in the MGNREGA workforce in his state and attributed it to delayed payments and low wages. "Workers in Kerala have not received their wages for the past three months, and Rs 811 crore is due under the scheme. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development has recommended linking MGNREGA wages to inflation
The government on Tuesday warned of strict action if MNREGA funds were misused or the guidelines for the implementation of the scheme were not followed. The remarks came after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal alleged in the Lok Sabha that MNREGA funds were being misused in several states, including Punjab. "Rather than being routed through panchayats, the funds are being diverted by the state governments and are being misused," she alleged. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said strict action will be taken in such cases. "Wherever guidelines are not being followed, funds are found to be misused, and rules violated, I assure (you) that we will send teams to investigate, and strict action will be taken," he said. During the Question Hour, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee engaged in a war of words with the treasury bench members in the Lok Sabha over the "stoppage" of MNREGA funds for West Bengal. Banerjee alleged that the benefits of the MNREGA
Expenditure under MGNREG scheme has reached 106 per cent of the available funds, with Rs 82,963 crore already disbursed from the approved outlay of Rs 86,000 crore for FY25