MGNREGA has already used up over half of its annual funds this fiscal

More than half of the funds allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme in the current financial year has been utilised in just three-and-a-half months into the fiscal, suggesting the pressure on rural India on generating employment.

“As on July 20, 2021, an amount of Rs 41,187.06 crore has been released in the current financial year 2021-22 (as on July 20, 2021) for the implementation of the programme as against the allocation of Rs 73,000 crore,” minister of state for rural development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said in response to a question in the Lok Sabha. This is 56.4% of the annual budgetary allocation.



“Further, 6.51 crore persons have been provided employment and more than 130.9 crore person-days have been generated under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in the current financial year till July 23, 2021,” minister said.

The current year’s allocation of Rs 73,000 crore is an increase of Rs 11,500 crore more compared to Budget Estimate for the financial year 2020-21.


In 2020-21, the government had raised the budgetary allocation for the scheme by Rs 40,000 crore taking the total spent on Mgnrega to Rs 1,11,170.86 crore after the nationwide lockdown last year resulted in migration of workers back to rural India. During the 2020-21, 11.19 crore persons were provided employment and more than 389.23 crore person-days were generated under the scheme.


Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) is a demand driven wage employment programme, which provides for livelihood security by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
The scheme aims to strengthen the livelihood resource base of the rural households while creating productive assets. So far, more than 25 lakh assets have been created in the current FY 2021-22.


The Act mandates expenditure of 60% for creation of assets directly related to agriculture and allied activities through development of land, water and trees.