The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or NREGA, is a scheme aimed at creating employment and livelihood security in rural areas. The scheme also seeks to increase access to productive assets like land, credit, and financial services for all rural households. The Act was passed by Parliament in 2005 and came into force on February 2, 2006. It aims to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do unskilled manual work.
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This scheme aims to increase livelihood security in rural areas
The scheme is a demand-driven program that employs 100 days a year. It also aims at increasing the livelihood security of rural people by providing them with a regular source of income during this period. The scheme is implemented by the state governments through their respective rural development departments. These departments are responsible for employing eligible households that apply under the scheme. The wages paid under this scheme are set at a minimum of Rs.100/- per day and can be increased up to Rs.400/- per day depending on the nature of the work being undertaken by the household members.
NREGA/MGNREGA Eligibility
NREGA is a central government scheme for the rural poor who are unemployed or underemployed. NREGA was launched on April 1, 2005, for the construction of roads and other infrastructure in rural areas.
The eligibility criteria for NREGA and MGNREGA are similar, but there is one crucial difference: while both provide 100 days’ wages at current minimum wage rates (Rs 518/day) to any person who has been unemployed for at least 6 months within a year before applying for work under this scheme; only those who do not have any income source during their agricultural activities will qualify under MGNREGA but not under NREGA.
The implementation of NREGA is done by state governments through their respective departments, which work under MGNREGA (the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act). The basic eligibility criteria for NREGA are:
- The applicant must be over 18 years of age.
- Applicants must have secured an employment card from any registered employment provider.
- Applicants can only apply for one type of work per family i.e. if two members work then only one person needs to do farm labor (or another specified category) while another member can do the construction or some other job that requires manual labor skills.
NREGA/MGNREGA Benefits
NREGA is a government-sponsored employment program that provides wage employment to drought-hit rural households. It has been in existence since 2005 and aims to provide 100 days of work per year to all eligible families who need it most. The scheme covers all areas where there is no work, with activities ranging from digging wells and building roads to irrigating fields and repairing damaged houses.
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The benefits package includes:
- Payment within 15 days after completion of work.
- Payments are made directly into bank accounts.
- Benefit for women & SC/STs as well as youth above 18 years old (if working).
- Payment through Aadhaar Pay System (or any other payment mode) if your employer does not have a bank account registered with the government portal used for payment.
Separate payment for SC/STs; payment of Rs. 17.50 per day (for women) and Rs. 20 per day (for men).
Work as per your convenience, and all people who have a bank account with the government portal used for payment can also be employed under this scheme.
How do I check my NREGA or MGNREGA account balance?
The NREGA Card does include part of the information that a user can use to assess their NREGA wage for a given period, but there is currently no mechanism to view the NREGA Outstanding Balance online. The MGNREGA card includes data on the number of dates the employee was employed as well as a fixed pay for every day of labor that has been finished and updated. The daily salary rate varies from state to state and is subject to periodic adjustment. It is possible to examine the balance of the NREGA account regarding upcoming payouts using the information from the NREGA standard wage list by state.
NREGA App
The NREGA App is a mobile application developed by the Ministry of Rural Development. It helps citizens access information related to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). Citizens can also register for the NREGA scheme by downloading this app.
The app has been developed in association with the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The NREGA app is available in English and Hindi. It can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
Conclusion
We hope that this article helped you understand the NREGA scheme and its eligibility criteria.
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NREGA / MGNREGA – Eligibility, Benefits, Account Balance & App FAQs
The MGNREGA was established to improve rural livelihood security by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a fiscal year to every family whose adult members volunteer to conduct unskilled manual labor.
Chhattisgarh is the most successful in MGNREGA.