TFIPOST हिन्दी
TFIPOST Global
Tfipost.com
Tfipost.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • All
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
    Mawsynram to Get the World’s First Rain Museum

    Soaked in Culture: Mawsynram to Get the World’s First Rain Museum

    Ghaziabad Mayor Orders FIR Over Illegal 'Mazar'

    Ghaziabad Cracks Down on ‘Land Jihad’: Mayor Orders FIR Over Illegal ‘Mazar’

    From Magadh to Mumbai: Thackeray Roots Revisited Amid Raj-Uddhav Reunion

    From Bihar to Mumbai: Thackeray Roots Revisited Amid Raj-Uddhav Reunion

    All is not well within the ruling alliance in Jharkhand.

    Tensions in Jharkhand: Cracks Appear Between JMM and Congress, Raising Concerns for INDI Bloc

    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • All
    • Business
    • Economy1
    • Finance
    India’s Forex Reserves Surge Past $700 Billion

    India’s Forex Reserves Surge Past $700 Billion, Close to All-Time Record

    Why GST Search Is Essential For Compliance In Modern Enterprises

    Why GST Search Is Essential For Compliance In Modern Enterprises

    Improving Communication and Collaboration in Distributed Teams: Strategies for Indian Business Analysts

    Improving Communication and Collaboration in Distributed Teams: Strategies for Indian Business Analysts

    Why Every Modern Retail Shop Needs Reliable Billing Software Today

    Why Every Modern Retail Shop Needs Reliable Billing Software Today

    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • All
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
    Major Arms Seizure in Manipur Hill Districts

    Amid Ongoing Tensions, Security Operation Yields Major Arms Seizure in Manipur Hill Districts

    military reveals china-pakistan-turkey nexus during operation sindoor

    One Border, Three Adversaries: Indian Army Blasts China-Pakistan-Turkey Axis in Operation Sindoor

    INS Tamal marks the end of import of Indian Warships

    INS Tamal Marks End of Warship Imports as India Sets Sail on Atmanirbhar Bharat Path

    UK’s 5th-Gen F-35B Jet Grounded in Kerala Set to Be Airlifted After Weeks of Uncertainty

    UK’s 5th-Gen F-35B Jet Grounded in Kerala Set to Be Airlifted After Weeks of Uncertainty

    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • All
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
    Sydney Protest Sends Global Message Against Hindu Persecution in Bangladesh

    Sydney Protest Sends Global Message Against Hindu Persecution in Bangladesh

    PM Modi Receives Trinidad's Highest Civilian Honour, Lands in Argentina to Deepen Strategic Ties

    PM Modi Receives Trinidad’s Highest Civilian Honour, Lands in Argentina to Deepen Strategic Ties

    when gandhi's statue was removed in ghana

    When Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue Was Removed in Ghana for Being ‘Racist’

    Empower the Global South: PM Modi

    Time to Reshape Global Governance, Empower the Global South: PM Modi

    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • All
    • Culture
    • Education
    • History
    • Indology
    The Beginning of Devotion: History of the First Kanwar Yatra

    The Beginning of Devotion: History of the First Kanwar Yatra 

    Kanwar Yatra: Four Devotional Paths, One Divine Destination

    Kanwar Yatra: Four Devotional Paths, One Divine Destination

    char dham yatra suspended due to bad weather

    Uttarakhand Suspends Char Dham Yatra Due to Adverse Weather, Prioritizes Pilgrim Safety

    Sanatan Mahakumbh Event Scheduled at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan

    Sanatan Mahakumbh Event Scheduled at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on July 6

    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • All
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Games
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Satire
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    say no to alcohol for 6 months

    How Quitting Alcohol for 6 Months Can Transform Your Health

    Mental Wellness Rituals to Stay Calm, Focused, and Balanced

    Mental Wellness Rituals to Stay Calm, Focused, and Balanced

    India's Tour of Bangladesh Likely Postponed Amid Political Unrest

    India’s Tour of Bangladesh Likely Postponed Amid Political Unrest

    What Is The Best Way To Bet On Tennis?

    What Is The Best Way To Bet On Tennis?

    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
Tfipost.com
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • All
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
    Mawsynram to Get the World’s First Rain Museum

    Soaked in Culture: Mawsynram to Get the World’s First Rain Museum

    Ghaziabad Mayor Orders FIR Over Illegal 'Mazar'

    Ghaziabad Cracks Down on ‘Land Jihad’: Mayor Orders FIR Over Illegal ‘Mazar’

    From Magadh to Mumbai: Thackeray Roots Revisited Amid Raj-Uddhav Reunion

    From Bihar to Mumbai: Thackeray Roots Revisited Amid Raj-Uddhav Reunion

    All is not well within the ruling alliance in Jharkhand.

    Tensions in Jharkhand: Cracks Appear Between JMM and Congress, Raising Concerns for INDI Bloc

    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • All
    • Business
    • Economy1
    • Finance
    India’s Forex Reserves Surge Past $700 Billion

    India’s Forex Reserves Surge Past $700 Billion, Close to All-Time Record

    Why GST Search Is Essential For Compliance In Modern Enterprises

    Why GST Search Is Essential For Compliance In Modern Enterprises

    Improving Communication and Collaboration in Distributed Teams: Strategies for Indian Business Analysts

    Improving Communication and Collaboration in Distributed Teams: Strategies for Indian Business Analysts

    Why Every Modern Retail Shop Needs Reliable Billing Software Today

    Why Every Modern Retail Shop Needs Reliable Billing Software Today

    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • All
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
    Major Arms Seizure in Manipur Hill Districts

    Amid Ongoing Tensions, Security Operation Yields Major Arms Seizure in Manipur Hill Districts

    military reveals china-pakistan-turkey nexus during operation sindoor

    One Border, Three Adversaries: Indian Army Blasts China-Pakistan-Turkey Axis in Operation Sindoor

    INS Tamal marks the end of import of Indian Warships

    INS Tamal Marks End of Warship Imports as India Sets Sail on Atmanirbhar Bharat Path

    UK’s 5th-Gen F-35B Jet Grounded in Kerala Set to Be Airlifted After Weeks of Uncertainty

    UK’s 5th-Gen F-35B Jet Grounded in Kerala Set to Be Airlifted After Weeks of Uncertainty

    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • All
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
    Sydney Protest Sends Global Message Against Hindu Persecution in Bangladesh

    Sydney Protest Sends Global Message Against Hindu Persecution in Bangladesh

    PM Modi Receives Trinidad's Highest Civilian Honour, Lands in Argentina to Deepen Strategic Ties

    PM Modi Receives Trinidad’s Highest Civilian Honour, Lands in Argentina to Deepen Strategic Ties

    when gandhi's statue was removed in ghana

    When Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue Was Removed in Ghana for Being ‘Racist’

    Empower the Global South: PM Modi

    Time to Reshape Global Governance, Empower the Global South: PM Modi

    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • All
    • Culture
    • Education
    • History
    • Indology
    The Beginning of Devotion: History of the First Kanwar Yatra

    The Beginning of Devotion: History of the First Kanwar Yatra 

    Kanwar Yatra: Four Devotional Paths, One Divine Destination

    Kanwar Yatra: Four Devotional Paths, One Divine Destination

    char dham yatra suspended due to bad weather

    Uttarakhand Suspends Char Dham Yatra Due to Adverse Weather, Prioritizes Pilgrim Safety

    Sanatan Mahakumbh Event Scheduled at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan

    Sanatan Mahakumbh Event Scheduled at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on July 6

    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • All
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Games
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Satire
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    say no to alcohol for 6 months

    How Quitting Alcohol for 6 Months Can Transform Your Health

    Mental Wellness Rituals to Stay Calm, Focused, and Balanced

    Mental Wellness Rituals to Stay Calm, Focused, and Balanced

    India's Tour of Bangladesh Likely Postponed Amid Political Unrest

    India’s Tour of Bangladesh Likely Postponed Amid Political Unrest

    What Is The Best Way To Bet On Tennis?

    What Is The Best Way To Bet On Tennis?

    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
No Result
View All Result
Tfipost.com
Tfipost.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Defense
  • Geopolitics
  • Knowledge
  • Law
  • Lounge

Overhaul of MNREGA: The Biggest Reform of Modi Government Yet To Be Rolled Out

Akshay Narang by Akshay Narang
8 February 2016
in Opinions, TFIUvaach
MNREGA

MNREGA

Share on FacebookShare on X

The MNREGA started as a ‘pro poor’ scheme during the UPA era and was supposed to have done away with poverty or at least account for a substantial reduction in poverty by now. Instead the act has become a hotbed for corruption and has only made negligible contribution to poverty reduction.

Modi Government came in power on the promise of big bang reforms and sustained economic prudence. PM Modi has made his intentions of overhauling MNREGA clear both before and after the Lok Sabha Elections. Thus, it is both politically and economically obligatory incumbent upon the Modi Government to carry out this reform.

RelatedPosts

Bihar Breakaway: Kejriwal’s Exit Reinforces INDI Bloc’s Fragility

‘M’ for Mandate: NDA Bets on Mahila, Mandir, and Modi in Bihar 2025

NDA Seeks Lord Murugan’s ‘Blessings’ For Political Revival In Tamil Nadu

Load More

 

We therefore list down the evils and anomalies within MNREGA, what the Modi Government has done/ proposed to be done and what it should do in order to bring about a complete overhaul in MNREGA.

 

Ghost workdays and payments:

 

The biggest anomaly with the MNREGA is that it ends up creating a host of ghost workdays, i.e. days which are unaccounted for by the poor households themselves. In 2009-10 the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) stated that the first full year of MNREGA created 2.84 billion workdays. Fortunately, the NSS the apex Survey Organization of India conducted a household survey and explicitly asked the BPL households about the number of days of MNREGA work the households obtained. According to the field survey thus conducted, 1.47 billion workdays, almost half of MoRD data. Thus, 48 percent of the days are clearly ghost workdays, the result being that the poor does not benefit and the government coffers incur heavy loss. While 1.37 billion workdays are still there in Government documents they have never actually been availed by the target population.

 

The rest of 52% workdays which both the MoRD data and the NSS agreed has actually happened does not tell a sweet story either. When we consider the payments actually made to the poor. According to the Tendulkar Poverty Line, 42% of those who received payments out of MNREGA are BPL. Thus, 58% of the payments were made to the non-poor. The average poverty gap and the funds sanctioned per poor expose the lacunae of MNREGA more clearly. The average poverty gap in India according to the latest data available is Rs. 1,700 as on 2011-12 but the funds sanctioned per BPL person were Rs. 32,500. The Government as a result ends up spending (32,500/1,700) around 19 times of what it needs to spend in order to make a BPL person non-poor. Therefore, the Government ends up spending a sum of around Rs. 47,000 Crores annually on MREGA alone- nearly a sum that if utilized in the most proper manner is sufficient in itself to end poverty in India.

 

Use of Banking Infrastructure:

 

Modi Government though has proposed several initiatives and reforms on this front. Actual work has also taken off as far as covering leakages in MNREGA is concerned. In fact the revolution of financial inclusion which kicked off in the initial stages of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana can be linked with MNREGA. Therefore, those who are supposed to be paid under MNREGA can be registered along with their bank accounts so that there is greater transparency and greater accountability.

 

No Asset Creation:

 

No prudent Government would sanction such large scale funds without any asset creation or to put it in technical sense spending around half a lakh crore on non-development expenditure annually even as the Government struggles to achieve its fiscal deficit target is the greatest form of fiscal indiscipline. This can be illustrated clearly in Modi’s speech in the Lok Sabha last year during the Monsoon Session that MNREGA is a clear example of Congress’ failures and that even after 60 years of Independence MNREGA forced us to send people to dig potholes.

 

Linking MNREGA with development activities:

 

Modi Government is thus satisfied about lack of asset creation. Modi Government has started several initiatives like Swachh Bharat and Deendyal Upadhayay Gram Jyoti Yojana among others. Several old Government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana are still highly active. It doesn’t make sense to employ daily labourers for these schemes and at the same time make payments under MNREGA. The Government thus can take a momentous and much awaited step of linking MNREGA with the Developmental Schemes of the Government. This would make the MNREGA two fold, a poverty reduction scheme and labour supply for developmental activities of the Central Government. Such a step if taken would entail transformation of the MNREGA from a scheme creating potholes to a scheme contributing heavily towards electrification and road construction among several other development activities.

 

No Skill Development:

 

‘Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’. The cardinal defect in MNREGA is that it believes in giving fish to the poor rather than teaching the poor how to fish. MNREGA is reflector of the typical disguised communist culture of doing nothing and surviving wholly on Government subsidies.

Modi Government has realized that if India has to develop it has to be skilled. Therefore, MNREGA in itself poses a tough question in the endeavor of skilling the masses. Its solution too is the most intricate and the Modi Government should at least consider linking MNREGA with the skill India campaign and forge an inspection method to make sure that the attempt to inculcate skill development within MNREGA beneficiaries becomes successful. Without this step the attempt of reforming MNREGA would remain incomplete. The rationale behind this step is clear we cannot indefinitely supply funds to end poverty. The beneficiaries should not be made to indefinitely survive their life purely on subsidies but they should be made capable of earning on their own.

 

Conclusion:

 

The MNREGA is definitely a huge blockade towards fiscal discipline for the Modi Government especially when the Finance Minister has time and again clarified that financial prudence is his topmost priority. The good news though is that the Government has the financial infrastructure ready for ensuring that discretionary power and subsequent leakages arising out of cash payments can be minimized if not altogether eliminated. A lot though still needs to be done. The Government has to devise methods to make sure that MNREGA no longer only means a fancy name for bad subsidies but is actually used in an innovative manner towards asset creation.

 

Any change in MNREGA no matter how innovative and how progressive it maybe will evoke strong responses by the Opposition and the Mainstream Media along with the Opposition will start projecting the Government’s moves as an attempt to subjugate MNREGA as they did in the case of amendment of the Land Acquisition Act. The Modi Government though should not be wary of such hallow criticism and move ahead with its poll promises of fast paced reforms. The economic reforms promised by Finance Minister Jaitley would be unfulfilled if the biggest reform desperately needed, i.e. overhaul of MNREGA is not carried out.

Tags: MNREGAModi governmentNDANREGAUPA
ShareTweetSend
Previous Post

Exposing the Left Wing Cartel – Chapter 2 | Gandhi-Nehru Dynasty and Legacy Creation

Next Post

Scams, Sleaze aur Scandals – Who is Saritha Nair and why is Kerala Politics in a turmoil?

Related Posts

way ahead of G7 summit
Opinions

When The Summit Became A Stage: The G7, Trump’s Exit, And Fractured World

17 June 2025

In the crisp alpine air of Kananaskis, nestled amidst the brooding Rockies of Alberta, world leaders gathered to forge...

The Tale of how Operation Sindoor Silenced Satyapal Malik and His Echo Chamber
Opinions

Operation Sindoor Success: Satyapal Malik and ilks disappears into abyss of silence

8 May 2025

On May 6, former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik appeared in a much-publicised interview with controversial journalist Karan...

Operation Sindoor
Defense

Why Operation Sindoor? Because No One Touches the Sindoor of an Indian Woman Without Consequence

7 May 2025

In a rapid and decisive response to the Pahalgam Islamist attack that claimed the lives of 26 innocent tourists...

Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Currently Playing

Murugan Wave Rattles INDIA Bloc, Triggers Reactionary Meet in Madurai

Murugan Wave Rattles INDIA Bloc, Triggers Reactionary Meet in Madurai

00:08:10

Rage on stage: why a police officer resigned quit after CM's outburst

00:03:40

Right to religion vs duty to identify: where should India draw the line?

00:04:34

Junior Kharge Calls to Ban RSS Amid Karnataka Congress Civil War!

00:10:02

Kerala Muslim Groups oppose Zumba classes for School Children

00:07:21
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
tfipostTfipost.com
Right Wing | News Analysis | Indian Opinion
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap

©2025 TFI Media Private Limited

No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
TFIPOST हिन्दी
TFIPOST Global

©2025 TFI Media Private Limited