Page 5 - Mgnrega

Opposition slams plan to rename MGNREGA, says Centre erasing history

Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh said the move reflected a larger pattern. The Indian government is changing the entire history

MGNREGA rename row: BJP says Modi govt aimed to change scheme's spirit

The BJP said on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to rename the rural job guarantee scheme was not to alter its name but to change its "spirit". Hitting back at the Congress following its criticism on renaming MGNREGA, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the opposition party and its leaders cannot understand the decision as they function with a sense of entitlement. "The name on which the Congress considers its exclusive right belongs to the entire country," the BJP leader said in an apparent reference to Mahatma Gandhi's name. The Union Cabinet approved a Bill on Friday to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as 'Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojna'. On Saturday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh slammed the Modi government, saying it was a "master" at renaming schemes and asked what was wrong with having "Mahatma Gandhi" in the name of the scheme. Congress general secretary in-charge (organisation) K C Venugopal sa

PM renaming MGNREGA to claim credit for revolutionary scheme: Congress

With the Cabinet approving a Bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Congress on Saturday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing this to claim credit and the move is "nothing but a cosmetic change to paper over the deliberate neglect being meted out to this scheme". The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a Bill to rename the MGNREGA and increase the number of work days, sources said. According to them, the scheme will now be renamed as 'Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojna', and the number of work days under it would be increased from 100 days at present to 125 days. Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said the PM, who once called MGNREGA a "monument of failure", is now renaming it to claim credit for the revolutionary scheme. "It's yet another way of erasing Mahatma Gandhi from our national psyche, especially from the villages, where, he said, India's soul resides," he alleged. "This move is also nothing

MGNREGA to see a name change, rise in guaranteed employment days

Cabinet clears Bill to rename MGNREGS as 'Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojana' and raise guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days

Average 50 days of employment per household under MGNREGS in five years

An average 50 days of employment per household was provided to workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the last five years, Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday. The flagship rural employment scheme guarantees up to 100 days of wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. In a written reply in the Upper House, Paswan said in 2024-25, average days of employment provided per household under MGNREGS was 50.24. The figures for previous years were similar. In 2023-24, the average number of workdays per household was 52.07, in 2022-23 it was 47.84, in 2021-22 it was 50.07, and in 2020-21 it was 51.54. Altogether, the average number of days of employment per household during the last five years comes to 50.35. In his reply, Paswan also said the responsibility for implementation of the MGNREGS at ground level lies with th

Centre resumes MGNREGA works in West Bengal but with stringent riders

Cap of Rs 20 lakh per work; 100% e-KYC and pre-estimation field visits mandatory

Declining dependence: Declining MGNREGA demand is a positive sign

This improvement is attributed to multiple factors, including stronger real wages in both agricultural and non-agricultural work, increased tractor and fertiliser sales, healthy growth in farm credit

Centre releases over ₹68,000 crore to states under Mgnrega in FY26

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

Seeing a blip: MGNREGA work demand is down nearly 32%, shows data

Some experts said that drop in demand is mainly due to an improvement in economic activity in rural areas

J-K CM welcomes additional 50 MGNREGA workdays for calamity-hit panchayats

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday thanked the Centre for increasing the MGNREGA work limit for Jammu and Kashmir, and said this would play a vital role in helping vulnerable communities overcome economic distress in calamity-hit panchayats. The Centre has approved an increase in the number of person-days provided under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for J&K to 150 from 100. Abdullah thanked Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the decision and expressed appreciation for the Centre's swift support to J&K. "This crucial decision will assist thousands of households impacted by recent floods and landslides by ensuring enhanced livelihood opportunities and timely relief," the chief minister said. The enhanced support would play a vital role in helping vulnerable communities overcome economic distress in the calamity-hit panchayats, he said. Abdullah also congratulated Minister for Rural Development and ...

Centre approves increasing MGNREGA work limit to 150 days in J&K for FY26

The Centre has approved an increase in the number of person-days provided under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to 150 for Jammu and Kashmir, a move welcomed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare had recommended extending the benefit of additional employment of 50 days over and above the 100 days per household under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the flood, cloud burst, and landslide-affected areas of the Union territory for the 2025-26 financial year. In view of the likelihood of increased demand for employment on public works due to natural calamities, it has been decided to provide up to 50 days of additional employment over and above the 100 days per household in the affected rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir for FY 2025-26, an official release said. Sinha expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh ...

Congress accuses Centre of mass deletions in MGNREGA worker database

The Congress on Monday attacked the government over the reported deletion of nearly 27 lakh workers' names from the MGNREGA database between October 10 and November 14 this year, saying this is not an isolated act but a "systematic attempt to end" the rural jobs scheme. The opposition party also reiterated its demands, including a minimum MGNREGA wage of Rs 400 per day and an immediate halt to the mandatory adoption of exclusionary technology like Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS), National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), and e-KYC. Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, shared on X a media report which claimed that nearly 27 lakh workers' names were deleted from the database of MGNREGA between October 10 and November 14 this year, far exceeding the 10.5 lakh additions during the same period. "Another day, another attempt to deny India's rural poor their legislative right to employment. In the last one month -- between October 10th and November 14t

Calcutta HC directs immediate resumption of MGNREGA work in West Bengal

The matter was taken up by the Division Bench comprising Justice Sujoy Paul, acting chief justice, and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, after being mentioned earlier in the day

Demand for work under MGNREGA falls 35% in October, shows data

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

Bengal MGNREGA row: SC nixes Centre's plea against HC order to resume works

The Supreme Court upholds the Calcutta High Court's directive to restart MGNREGA works in West Bengal, ending a prolonged standoff over halted rural job funds

MGNREGA demand drops 27% in September, third monthly fall in a row

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

Centre earmarks 65% MGNREGA funds for over-exploited water blocks

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

MGNREGA dispute: Supreme Court to take up Centre's plea on Monday

Centre has challenged an HC order to restart MGNREGA works in West Bengal. Sanjeeb Mukherjee reports

MGNREGA man-days increased to 150 in Himachal after monsoon calamity

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 ...

MGNREGA work demand dips 26% in Aug with spike in kharif sowing

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