Lok Sabha Question No. 198 (STARRED), answered on 2022-12-20
Subject: Projected Employment under MGNREGS
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: A. Chellakumar, Adoor Prakash

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 198

ANSWERED ON 20/12/2022

## PROJECTED EMPLOYMENT UNDER MGNREGS

- *198.   DR. A. CHELLAKUMAR: ADV. ADOOR PRAKASH:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is projected to employ people from over 70 million families in Financial Year 2022-2023 indicating that overall economic growth which is still not reaching the rural and unorganised sections of the country;
- (b) whether the Government is aware that as compared to the corresponding pre-COVID month of October 2019, about 15.5 million households applied for jobs through the MGNREGS in October 2022;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether the Government is aware that in contrast to its two lakh target, the Unnati initiative, which was launched in 2020 to reduce reliance on the MGNREGS, has trained only 25,056 people; and
- (e) if so, the reasons therefor along with the steps taken by the Government to address the issue?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI GIRIRAJ SINGH)

- (a) to (e):       A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## Statement in reply to Parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 198 for 20.12.2022

(a)to(c):    Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) is a demand driven wage employment Scheme which provides 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.

In current financial year 2022-23 (as on 15.12.2022), a total of 538.04 lakh households have availed employment under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS.

Details  of  the  households  demanded  employment  in  the  month  of  October,  2019  and October, 2022 is given below:

| Period                                   |   October, 2019 |   October, 2022 |
|------------------------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Households demanded employment (in lakh) |          129.18 |          155.45 |

## It  provides  livelihood  security,  i.e.  fall  back  options  for  livelihood  for  the  rural households, when no better employment opportunity is available.

(d)  &  (e): The  Government  of  India  has  launched  'Project  UNNATI'  in  December  2019 which intends to upgrade the skill-base of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS)  workers, and thereby improve their livelihoods,  so that  they  can  move  from  the  current  partial  employment  to  full  employment through either self employment or wage employment. The Project aims to enhance the skill base of 2 lakh Mahatma Gandhi NREGS beneficiaries.

The slow pace of implementation of the 'Project UNNATI' at the State level is being regularly reviewed by the Ministry with the State Rural Livelihood Missions of the concerned States. The issue, if any, comes to the notice of this Ministry is addressed immediately. So far, 27,383 (as on 30.11.2022) candidates have been trained.

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