MGNREGA to be known as Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Yojana

NEW DELHI: The Centre will bring a bill to rename employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA as Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Yojana and increase the number of guaranteed workdays for rural poor to 125 from existing 100 days, people aware of the development said.

As per a Cabinet proposal, Rs 1.51 lakh crore will be allocated for the scheme, the central share will be Rs 95,600 crore, sources told ET. The remaining share would be from states.

All works and projects to be undertaken will be from Viksit Bharat National Infra Stack and priority will be on water security through water-related works and core infrastructure, they said. There is also a provision to give unemployment allowance if states fail to give guaranteed employment, they added.


There appears to be a political connotation to the draft legislation, as the Gandhi name - which is also associated with a political family - has been dropped from the name of the scheme.

The proposed bill was passed by the Union Cabinet on Friday and is likely to be introduced in Parliament next week. There is also consideration that the bill may be referred to a parliamentary panel.

The scheme originally launched with the name National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA), later renamed as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act, is a labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the "right to work."

It aimed to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteered to do unskilled work.