Impact of MGNREGA on Rural Livelihood in India

Abstract

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (NREGA) guarantees 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult  members are willing to participate in unskilled manual work  The Act is an important  step towards realization of the right to work and aims at arresting out-migration of  rural households in search of employment simultaneously enhancing  people’s  livelihood on a sustained basis, by developing the economic and social infrastructure  in rural areas. The present study on evaluation of the MGNREGA Scheme is intended to assess the impact of this scheme on the overall quality of life of people by gauging different parameters associated with the improvement of overall quality of life of people such as   impact on income – earning levels of each household, expenditure on food and non-food items, household and cultivable assets creation by the beneficiaries.

The first objective of this paper is thus to evaluate whether MGNREGA has engendered changes in gross irrigated area, wages in agriculture, cropping patterns and crop yields. We view the first two of these, namely, gross irrigated area and agricultural wages, as potential channels through which the scheme may ultimately affect cropping patterns and crop yields. In particular, the paper examines whether farmers are shifting to crops with lower labour and/or higher water requirements, and also whether crop yields have improved as a consequence of the MGNREGA.