Lok Sabha Question No. 3051 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-22
Subject: Additional Outlay for MGNREGS
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sushil Kumar Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3051

ANSWERED ON 22/03/2022

## ADDITIONAL OUTLAY FOR MGNREGS

## 3051.   SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the ministry has sought additional outlay  of Rs 25000 crores for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(MGNREGS);
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the need for such demand;
- (c) whether the Government has made critical comments about the notified wage rates in some States including Bihar and called it as unfathomable;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the  steps  being  taken  by  the  Ministry  to  ensure  that  there  is  no  need  for  the  rural employment guarantee scheme and there are ample employment opportunities in rural India?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

(a) & (b) Under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi  NREGS),  in  the  current  financial  year  2021-22,  the  budget  provision  at  Budget Estimate (BE) stage was Rs. 73,000 crore.  The Ministry had requested for additional budget allocation which has been enhanced to Rs. 98,000 crore at the Revised Estimate (RE) stage as per  the  requirement  of  funds.  The  Ministry  seeks  additional  funds  under  Mahatma  Gandhi NREGS from Ministry of Finance as and when required for meeting the demand for work on the ground.

- (c)   No, Sir.
- (d)   Does not arise.

(e)   Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi NREGS)  is  a  demand  driven  wage  employment  programme  which  provide  for  the enhancement  of  livelihood  security  of  the  households  in  rural  areas  of  the  country  by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It provides livelihood security, i.e. fall back options for livelihood for the rural households, when no better employment opportunity is available.

There  are  two  skill  development  programme  for  rural  youth  under  DAY-NRLM,  namely, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)  and Rural Self Employment Training institutes (RSETIs). Both these programmes are aimed at increasing employability of rural youth, either for wage employment or self employment.

Project 'UNNATI', launched in December 2019 by Government of India, is a skilling project that intends to upgrade the skill base of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS workers, and thereby improve their livelihoods, so that they can move from the current partial employment to full employment. The Ministry of Rural Development has launched the Rural Mason Training (RMT) program under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Awaas  Yojana-  Gramin  (PMAY-G)  to  address  the  issue  of insufficient  number  of  skilled  masons  for  construction  of  quality  PMAY-G  houses.  The initiative not only avails livelihood opportunities for the rural workforce but also contributes towards  the  availability  of  a  skilled  workforce  for  the  construction  of  rural  infrastructure under different schemes. The MoRD has partnered with the Construction Skill Development Council  of  India  (CSDCI)  and  National  Skill  Development  Corporation  (NSDC)  in  the implementation of the RMT program.

*****