MGNREGS coverage and workdays fell sharply in 2025–26: LibTech India

📌 Summary:

• A report by LibTech India (prepared for NREGA Sangharsh Morcha) reveals MGNREGS witnessed sharp contraction in 2025–26, the final operational year of the scheme under the UPA-era legislation

• Paradoxical trend: registered households rose marginally, but fewer households/workers actually found employment; total workdays declined significantly; fewer families completed the guaranteed 100 days of work

• LibTech estimates the contraction caused an average income loss of ₹1,221 per MGNREGS household during the financial year

• Uncertain transition: The Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act 2025 has been enacted as the successor to MGNREGS, but clarity on implementation, coverage and rights under the new framework is awaited

• Concerns: (1) Right to work (100 days guarantee) may be diluted in successor scheme; (2) Shift from "demand-driven" to a potentially "supply-driven" model; (3) Adequate budget allocation and timely wages remain persistent issues

• MGNREGS background: enacted under UPA govt (2005); provides guaranteed 100 days of unskilled manual work per rural household per year; acts as rural safety net and countercyclical instrument

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 – Indian Economy → Employment, rural wages, social safety nets. Also GS2 – Welfare schemes. Tests understanding of MGNREGS design, the right-to-work principle, and policy transitions.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• MGNREGS enacted: 2005 (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act)

• Guarantee: 100 days unskilled manual work per rural household per year

• LibTech India: consortium of academics and activists working on NREGS data

• Successor scheme: Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act 2025

• Average income loss due to contraction in 2025-26: ₹1,221 per household (LibTech estimate)

🔑 Key Term: Countercyclical Fiscal Policy — Government spending that increases during economic downturns to boost demand; MGNREGS serves as a countercyclical instrument — spending rises when rural distress increases.