Six months after lockdown lifted, no let-up in MNREGS demand

SIX MONTHS after the easing of restrictions and phase-wise opening of the financial system in view of the dip in coronavirus circumstances, the demand for work underneath the MNREGS continues to stay excessive, with almost two crore or extra households availing the agricultural job assure scheme each month.
In reality, the variety of households availing the MNREGS within the final two months, December and January, is on the similar degree as in August and September final 12 months, when coronavirus circumstances have been at their peak.
In all, 7.17 crore households (10.51 crore people) had already availed the MNREGS until February 17 within the present monetary 12 months (April 1, 2020 onwards) — an all-time excessive for a monetary 12 months for the reason that inception of the scheme in 2006.
With lakhs of migrant employees returning to their villages following the Covid-19 lockdown, the MNREGS has seen unprecedented demand for unskilled work. A month-to-month evaluation reveals that the demand peaked in June 2020, when 3.89 crore households — 80% increased than June 2019 — availed the scheme. The July 2020 determine of two.75 crore was 83% increased than July 2019’s.

ExplainedLong street backTHE MNREGS figures for the previous two months are the identical as when the coronavirus was its peak. The unflagging demand for the agricultural job scheme reveals that unskilled labourers are struggling to seek out work regardless of the phased opening up of the financial system.

In August, September and October 2020, the variety of households that availed the MNREGS remained round two crore – 62% to 82% increased than the corresponding figures for a similar months within the earlier fiscal. Though the numbers fell in November, the decline was marginal (to 1.84 crore), and nonetheless 47% increased than those that signed up for the MNREGS in November 2019. December 2020 and January 2021 once more noticed an increase, to 2.08 crore (46.8% increased than December 2019) and a couple of.05 crore households (30.36% increased than January 2020) respectively.

While the lockdown lasted two months (April-May) after which the phased unlocking started, the numbers present that the MNREGS demand stays excessive.

The highest spurt in demand has been registered from states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Over 40 lakh households have accomplished the complete 100 days employment until date within the present monetary 12 months.
As a part of the financial bundle introduced in response to Covid, the federal government has declared further funding of Rs 40,000 crore for the MNREGS, over and above the Rs 61,500 crore allotted within the Union Budget 2020-21. With this hike, the MNREGS annual funds has crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore determine for the primary time ever