-Financial Express The government’s proposed Unnati scheme, if it works as planned, offers MGNREGA beneficiaries a ticket out of the programme, and, in the long run, out of poverty. It has been clear for a long time that MGNREGA is barely the poverty reduction tool it is often made out to be; at Rs 204 per day per person, the average wage rate across the country is too low to sustain a...

-The Indian Express Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, provides unskilled manual work for 100 days to eligible rural households. Facing criticism over rising unemployment and rural distress, the Union government plans to launch a new project under which a stipend of up to Rs 20,000 will be given to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) labourers who undergo training in skills such as masonry or carpentry. The...

-The Indian Express Data that suggests young workers are increasingly turning to the scheme is a sign that must worry policymakers After the contraction of factory output by 1.1 per cent in August compared to the past year, the sharp decline in commercial credit in the year till September and other such gloomy indicators, come fresh signs of the deepening slowdown. As this paper has reported, the proportion of young workers, those...

-The Indian Express There is no clarity on what could be the reason behind this rising trend of entry level workforce among MGNREGA workers but experts say this could be a reflection of rural distress and lack of employment opportunities. The steady decline in the proportion of young workers, those between 18 and 30, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has halted and has begun to rise...

-The Hindu Putting more money in the hands of rural households will stir up the economy The government’s statistical machinery has begun work on revising the indices that capture the trends in consumer prices experienced in rural India. This opens up the prospect for an upward revision in the wages paid out to workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The current national average wage is just about...