30/01/2020 - Government Policies | Mainstorming

IAS Parliament 5 years

KEY POINTS

· It needs no reiteration that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has acted as insurance for landless labourers during crop failures, agrarian crises and periods of a stressed economy.

· With the ongoing economic slowdown resulting in depressed rural wages and the lack of adequate opportunity to work, the MGNREGS has provided much needed succour and this explains why demand for it has peaked in the last few months across various parts of the country.

· While in absolute terms, the allocations for the scheme in the budget presented in 2019 were higher compared to the previous financial year, the outlay fell in relative terms as a percentage of the overall allocations.

· The outlay was also lower than the actual expenditure in the previous year, which indicated the importance of the scheme in arresting rural distress.

· Several studies have pointed to its effect on the lives of the rural poor by providing employment in the agricultural off-season, offering alternative jobs during years of lean agricultural growth and as a safety net during crop failures.

· The scheme, by now, should have been an ideal vehicle for rural development and not just a fallback option. It could also involve rural workers in skilled work and pay them more wages for asset creation beyond just roads, wells and check-dams.

· A change in mindset is therefore key in not just tiding over problems such as funding and wage-delays, but also in using them as an opportunity to address the slowdown.