The government spent more money on MGNREGS in the financial year 2023-24 compared to the previous year. MGNREGS as it is known stands for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme – including states’ contribution for materials used in the work – Preliminary data gathered by the rural development ministry revealed that the expenditure amounted to Rs 1.05 lakh crore in 2023-24, compared to Rs 1.01 lakh crore in the preceding year. Experts noted that the irregular monsoon patterns led to a decrease in the usual massive movement of workers towards agricultural tasks during the second quarter of the fiscal year, Spending under the government’s flagship rural job guarantee scheme increased 4% year-on-year in 2023-24, after a 5% drop in the year before, despite improved economic activities, reflecting the impact of a below-normal monsoon season and wage inflation.
This program guarantees people living in rural areas work for a minimum of 100 days each year if they want to do so by providing manual labour. The government increased this spending by 4% from the previous fiscal year.
Why is it Important?
According to government sources, in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), there are a total of 25,72,31513 workers, out of which 12,88,50,525 are currently active participants. MGNREGS is major because it provides employment opportunities for people in rural areas, particularly when there may be few job openings. When the government allocates more funds to this programs, it has often shown that they are looking at improving things within the countryside. Their increased expenditure on this could be due to observation that there was need to assist those in rural areas find jobs easily.
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Reasons for the Increase:
The government increased spending on MGNREGS for a few reasons. The first reason for the increase in funding of MGNREGS by the government was because there were challenges faced in rural areas, particularly in agriculture which made it hard for people to find jobs. It is for this purpose that more money has been pumped into the program. Another reason is that with elections around the corner, governments usually intensify their spending on such programs to make people happy and attract as many votes as possible. However, we have to determine whether this hike in expenditure will continue over a long period or if it is short term due to election times only? There are some positive and negative effects of increased spending by government on MGNREGS. On one hand, if there is more financing going into MGNREGS then more people would be able to find jobs which would be good for them. It also boosts local economies because when these people are employed they get money and spend it elsewhere. Furthermore, this money can be utilized by the government on developing projects like roads or wells that may assist in bettering living standards within rural areas A case could also be made against what stands out as bad side of things about this issue including reasons why it should not have been spent on MGNEREGS but other than that I’m all right! Some of these challenges include cases of mismanagement where funds disappear no payment is given out due delays and poor services delivered sometimes!
Name of State/ Union territory Wage rate in rupees per day On MGNREGS
| State | Wage Rate (in Rs.) |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | 300.00 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 234.00 |
| Assam | 249.00 |
| Bihar | 245.00 |
| Chhattisgarh | 243.00 |
| Goa | 356.00 |
| Gujarat | 280.00 |
| Haryana | 374.00 |
| Himachal Pradesh | Non-scheduled areas – 236.00, Scheduled areas – 295.00 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 259.00 |
| Ladakh | 259.00 |
| Jharkhand | 245.00 |
| Karnataka | 349.00 |
| Kerala | 346.00 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 243.00 |
| Maharashtra | 297.00 |
| Manipur | 272.00 |
| Meghalaya | 254.00 |
| Mizoram | 266.00 |
| Nagaland | 234.00 |
| Odisha | 254.00 |
| Punjab | 322.00 |
| Rajasthan | 266.00 |
| Sikkim | 249.00 |
| Tamil Nadu | 319.00 |
| Telangana | 300.00 |
| Tripura | 242.00 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 237.00 |
| Uttarakhand | 237.00 |
| West Bengal | 250.00 |
| Andaman and Nicobar | Andaman District – 329.00, Nicobar District – 347.00 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 324.00 |
| Lakshadweep | 315.00 |
| Puducherry | 319.00 |
The increase in spending on MGNREGS shows that the government is trying to help people in rural areas find work and improve their lives. But it’s also important to make sure that the program is working well and that the money is being used effectively.
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