What is Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act?
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA) is a social security scheme
that attempts to provide employment and livelihood to rural labourers in the country. In an
effort to make inclusive and overall development a reality, the NREGA was passed as a
labour law and implemented across 200 districts in 2006. By 2008, it came to cover the entire
country. The scheme was designed to provide any adult who registers for rural employment a
minimum job guarantee of 100 days each financial year. This includes non-skilled work,
making it one-of-its-kind across the world. It was later renamed the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The MGNREGA is an entitlement
to work that every adult citizen holds. In case such employment is not provided within 15
days of registration, the applicant becomes eligible for an unemployment allowance.

The implementation of MGNREGA was left to the Gram Panchayats. According to

government sources, since the inception of the scheme, the government of India has incurred
a total expenditure of INR 289817.04 crores towards the scheme, thereby employing
68,26,921 workers on 2,61,942 worksites (data as of June 2015). The minimum wages
initially determined were INR 100 a day but later revised in keeping with the state labour
employment conventions. The minimum wages are now determined by the states and range
between INR 163 in Bihar to INR 500 in Kerala. The MGNREGA has been at the receiving
end of much criticism over the years. From being criticised for encouraging corruption to
increasing inequality to being called an election card for the UPA – the scheme has been
picked apart for a variety of reasons. Apart from causing a major financial drain on the
country’s resources, the actual benefits of the scheme do not reach the rural labourers,
detractors claim.

NaMo’s Take on the MGNREGA

Ever since the Modi-led NDA government came to power at the centre in May 2014, there
has been considerable uncertainty regarding the scheme. The Prime Minister himself is one of
the greatest critics of the scheme. In February 2015, in his Parliamentary (Lok Sabha) speech,
the PM was reported to have taken a dig at the Congress for the failure of the scheme. He
said, “I do have some political wisdom…How can I shut down this scheme? … MNREGA is
a living example of your (Congress’) failures”. The PM’s statements were criticised widely.
It has been the practice for governments in every democracy to honour the commitments of
the previous administration.

While NaMo’s views that the scheme is draining the economy beyond its means without
adding adequately, may have some truth to it, there are other aspects to the scheme that
cannot be ignored. MGNREGA has helped the poor of the country. The International Food
Policy Research Institute’s Global Hunger Index, for example, has cited the scheme and its
benefits to the poor as the main cause for decrease in underweight children (under five years)
in the country. There were only about 30 per cent underweight children in 2014 vis-à-vis 43.7
percent in 2005, according to news reports.

Social Security and MGNREGA Scorecard

Indian PM Narendra Modi and the NDA government, in the past year, have exhibited a great
interest in social security. Numerous schemes aimed at inclusive financial growth such as the
Jan Dhan Yojana have been launched. The low-cost Atal Pension Yojana and the life and
accident insurance schemes launched by the government are proof enough that the
administration is indeed looking at overall development and financial inclusion into the
mainstream while retaining an element of social security for the lower income groups. For the
MGNERA to flourish and achieve its objectives, however, it will need to be linked with these
schemes launched by the NDA government.

No such step has been initiated yet.

Despite the opposition, the NaMo government has brought about initiatives and changes to
MGNREGA that have improved the payment mechanism to tackle the issues pertaining to
delayed payment of wages. The Mobile Monitoring System was introduced towards the end
of 2014. This system makes way for real-time monitoring of the progress of projects that
employ labour under the scheme. This also regulates attendance and work environment in
these work sites. At the same time, the states were sanctioned INR 147 crore by the Centre to
strengthen the system of social audit used by the scheme. Social audit ensures transparency
by allowing public scrutiny of all records and accounts. This was targeted at reducing
corruption – one of the main challenges in successful implementation of MGNREGA.

On the other hand, the year recorded the worst performance of MGNREGA since its
inception. There were huge delays in the time required for payout of wages and the number
of days of work that each household received was also reduced. Disbursement of funds was
not comprehensive and structured, proving that the scheme is not high on the NDA priority
list.

Are Reforms on the Cards?

In 2015, PM Modi attempted to restrict the scope of MGNREGA and tried to retain the
scheme in only about 200 districts, which were the poorest in the country. The attempt met
with mass opposition and the PM received a letter from leading economists of the nation
criticising his move. The letter also urged the Prime Minister to consider reforms to the
scheme rather than running it aground. The scheme is a well-defined security net for many
families that would otherwise perish in abject poverty. What remains to be seen is whether
the NDA government focusses on  MGNREGA in its second year at the centre and enacts
adequate reforms or the scheme languishes as a forgotten UPA initiative.
NRHM
National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on
12th April 2005, to provide accessible, affordable and quality health care to the rural
population, especially the vulnerable groups. The Union Cabinet vide its decision dated 1st
May 2013, has approved the launch of National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) as a Sub-
mission of an over-arching National Health Mission (NHM), with National Rural Health
Mission (NRHM) being the other Sub-mission of National Health Mission.

NRHM seeks to provide equitable, affordable and quality health care to the rural population,
especially the vulnerable groups. Under the NRHM, the Empowered Action Group (EAG)
States as well as North Eastern States, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh have been
given special focus. The thrust of the mission is on establishing a fully functional, community
owned, decentralized health delivery system with inter-sectoral convergence at all levels, to
ensure simultaneous action on a wide range of determinants of health such as water,
sanitation, education, nutrition, social and gender equality. Institutional integration within the
fragmented health sector was expected to provide a focus on outcomes, measured against
Indian Public Health Standards for all health facilities.

Concept of NRHM
The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is a National effort at ensuring effective
healthcare through a range of interventions at individual, household, community, and most
critically at the health system levels. Despite considerable gains in health status over the past
few decades in terms of increased life expectancy, reductions in mortality and morbidity
serious challenges still remain. These challenges vary significantly from state to state and
even within states.

There has been a progressive decline in budgetary allocation for public health in the country
from 1.3% of GDP in 1990 to 0.9% in 1999. Rising inequities are another area of concern.
Studies demonstrate that curative services favour the rich over the poor. Only one tenth of the
population is covered by any form of health insurance thereby exposing the large majority to
the risk of indebtedness in the event of a major illness in the family. Operational integration
in policy and programme between various vertical programmes within the health sector, and
between health and other related sectors such as drinking water, sanitation, and nutrition has
been limited, resulting in a lack of holistic approaches to health. A number of States
particularly in North, East and North Eastern parts of the country have stagnant health
indicators and continue to grapple with significant morbidity and mortality. The causes for
this basically lie in socio-economic factors, under performing health systems and weak
institutional framework.

The National Common Minimum Programmer spells out the commitment of the Government
to enhance Budgetary Outlays for Public Health and to improve the capacity of the health
system to absorb the increased outlay so as to bring all round improvement in public health
services. This Mission seeks to provide effective health care to the rural population,
especially the disadvantaged groups including women and children, by improving access,
enabling community ownership and demand for services, strengthening public health systems
for efficient service delivery, enhancing equity and accountability and promoting
decentralization.

The goals of NRHM are outlined below:

 Reduction in Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio by at least 50% from
existing levels in next seven years
 Universalize access to public health services for Women’s health, Child health, water,
hygiene, sanitation and nutrition
 Prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including
locally endemic diseases
 Access to integrated comprehensive primary healthcare
 Ensuring population stabilization, gender and demographic balance.
 Revitalize local health traditions and mainstream AYUSH
 Promotion of healthy life styles

The Mission outcomes are expected to follow a phased approach and are at two levels:

1. National Level

 Infant Mortality Rate to be reduced to 30/1000 live births

 Maternal Mortality Ratio to be reduced to 100/100,000
 Total Fertility Rate to be brought to 2.1
 Malaria mortality reduction rate –50% upto 2010, additional 10% by 2012
 Kala Azar to be eliminated by 2010.
 Filaria/Microfilaria reduction rate: 70% by 2010, 80% by 2012 and elimination by
2015
 Dengue mortality reduction rate: 50% by 2010 and sustaining at that level until 2012
 Japanese Encephalitis mortality reduction rate: 50% by 2010 and sustaining at that
level until 2012
 Cataract Operation: increasing to 46 lakhs per year until 2012.
 Leprosy prevalence rate: to be brought to less than 1/10,000.
 Tuberculosis DOTS services: from the current rate of 1.8/10,00, 85% cure rate to be
maintained through the entire Mission period.
 2000 Community Health Centers to be upgraded to Indian Public Health Standards
 Utilization of First Referral Units to be increased from less than 20% to 75%
 250,000 women to be engaged in 18 states as Accredited Social Health Activists
(ASHA).

2. Community Level

 Availability of trained community level worker at village level, with a drug kit for
generic ailments
 Health Day at Anganwadi level on a fixed day/month for provision of immunization,
ante/post natal checkups and services related to mother & child healthcare, including
nutrition
 Availability of generic drugs for common ailments at Sub-centre and hospital level
 Good hospital care through assured availability of doctors, drugs and quality services
at PHC/CHC level
 Improved access to Universal Immunization through induction of Auto Disabled
Syringes, alternate vaccine delivery and improved mobilization services under the
programme
 Improved facilities for institutional delivery through provision of referral, transport,
escort and improved hospital care subsidized under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)
for the Below Poverty Line families
 Availability of assured healthcare at reduced financial risk through pilots of
Community Health Insurance under the Mission
 Provision of household toilets
 Improved Outreach services through mobile medical unit at district-level