Employment under MGNREGS increased by 76.11% in 2018-19

Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar apprised the Lok Sabha with employment figures under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar apprised the Lok Sabha with employment figures under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). In a written reply to a query in the connection, the union minister said that 52.04 lakh people were given employment under MGNREGS in 2018-19. This showed an increase of 76.11%. In 2017-18, 29.55 lakh people were employed under the scheme. Meanwhile, 39.91 lakhs were given employment under MGNREGS in 2016-17.

The state with the highest number of people who got employment through MGNREGS is Andhra Pradesh, 8.10 lakh people were roped in under the scheme. Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Nagaland, Manipur and Goa did not employ a single person under the aforementioned scheme. "The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) provides at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work," said a release by the Ministry of Rural Development. (ANI)