PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
*****
Back Grounder
NREGA to Change the Face of Rural India
New Delhi, Sravana 28, 1931
August 19, 2009
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is poised to bring cheers to the lives of millions of rural poor with the inclusion of new works under its ambit and the convergence with other flagship programs. Efforts are on to bring in more transparency and accountability in it with district level ombudsmen being envisaged to ensure that the benefits reach out to the poor and the needy villagers.
The objective of the act is to provide to every rural household a guarantee of at least 100 days of employment during a financial year by providing unskilled manual work in rural areas to those members of the rural household who volunteer to do such work.
Launched on 2nd February, 2006 from the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh in 200 districts of the country NREGA, one of the flagship schemes of the Government has been expanded to cover all the 614 districts across the country. Since its inception the program has benefitted over 10 crore rural households. It has provided employment opportunities to more than 4.479 crore households in 2008-09. It has also contributed to improvement in rural infrastructure.
The act envisages providing of 100 days employment to one member of each rural family residing below poverty line. Unique features of the Act include, time bound employment guarantee and wage payment within 15 days, incentive-disincentive structure to the State Governments for providing employment as 90 per cent of the cost for employment provided is borne by the Centre or payment of unemployment allowance at their own cost and emphasis on labour intensive works prohibiting the use of contractors and machinery. The Act also mandates 33 percent participation for women.
The NREGA works are intended to create permanent assets in the rural areas for future needs. These include water conservation and water harvesting,drought proofing (including afforestation and tree plantation);irrigation canals including micro and minor irrigation works; provision of irrigation facility, horticulture plantation and land development facilities on land owned by households belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes or to Below Poverty Line Families or to beneficiaries of land reforms or to the beneficiaries under the Indira Awas Yojna of the Government of India; renovation of traditional water bodies including desilting of tanks;land development; flood control and protection works including drainage in water logged areas; rural connectivity to provide all-weather access; and any other work which may be notified by the Central Government in consultation with the State Governments.
During the current financial year (2009-2010) the following activities has been undertaken under NREGA so far.
| Works Under NREGA | No. of Works Undertaken | No.of Works Completed |
| Road Connectivity | 335873 | 44177 |
| Flood Control& Protection works | 46980 | 9830 |
| Water Conservation and Water Harvesting | 442125 | 57959 |
| Drought Proofing | 143945 | 9991 |
| Micro Irrigation Works | 112677 | 15638 |
| Provisions of Irrigation facility to Land Owned by farmers | 394223 | 72053 |
| Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies | 209049 | 24953 |
| Land Development works | 258345 | 31658 |
| Works approved by the Ministry of Rural Development | 17478 | 1270 |
All adult members of a rural household willing to do unskilled manual work have the right to demand employment. Such households will apply for the Job Card to the Gram Panchayat . The Gram Panchayat will verify the age and local domicile of the applicant. After verification, the Gram Panchayat will issue a Job Card to the household with photograph free of cost The Job Card must remain in the custody of the household. Job Cardholder can apply for work to the Gram Panchayat which will issue him/her a dated receipt of the work application.
Employment will be provided by the Gram Panchayat (local self governing body) within 15 days of work application, else unemployment allowance will be paid. A household may avail up to 100 days of guaranteed employment in a financial year, depending on its need.
Unemployment Allowance will be provided will be provided by the states to an applicant if he/she is not provided employment within 15 days of the receipt of application seeking employment from the date on which the employment has been sought in case of an advance application ,whichever is later.
Water conservation; drought proofing (including plantation and afforestation); flood protection; land development; minor irrigation. An annual shelf of works to be prepared in advance of each year.
A ratio of 60:40 will be maintained between wage and material. Contractors/machinery are not permitted.
Wages paid at the wage rate to the wage earners through their Bank / Post Office accounts. Payment of wages to be made every week and in any case not later than a fortnight .
Gram Sabha (local community) will recommend works to be taken up.Gram Panchayats will execute at least 50% of works. Panchayati Raj Institutions will have a principal role in planning. monitoring and implementation.
Citizen Information Boards with details of work are to be put at the work sites. Crèche, drinking water, first aid and shade are to be provided on the work sites. Muster rolls to be maintained and open to inspection. Timely measurement to be ensured. At least one-third of the workers should be women .
Proactive disclosure of information. Social Audit by the Gram Sabha is mandatory. Regular Monitoring at all levels. Grievance Redressal Mechanism is to be set up. A Web enabled MIS www.nrega.nic.in for monitoring, decision making and transparency.
90% borne by the Central Government and 10% by the State Governments .
NREGA workers have been identified as a category for Jan Shree Bima Yojna for insurance cover.
Budget Estimate for NREGA during 2008-09 was Rs. 16000 crore which was revised to Rs. 30,000 crore. During the current Financial year 2009-10, the budgetary allocation under NREGA has been hiked to Rs. 30,100 crore.
Total Expenditure and wages disbursed under NREGA
| Year | Amount spent on wages (Rs. crores) | Total Expenditure (Rs. In crores) |
| 2006-07 | 5,842.37 | 8,823.35 |
| 2007-08 | 10,738.47 | 15,856.89 |
| 2008-09 | 18,165.57 | 134582.29 |
| 2009-10 (up to August 13, 2009) | 6314.86 | 8561.65 |
| Total | 41061.27
| 1,67,824.18 |
Employment Generation: 612.65 crores persondays of employment generated since inception.
| Year | Persondays in crores | No. of households provided employment in crores |
| 2006-07 | 90.50 | 2.10 |
| 2007-08 | 143.59 | 3.39 |
| 2008-09 | 214.56 | 4.50 |
| 2009-10(up to August 13, 2009) | 73.5 | 2.28 |
| Total | 612.65 | 12.27 |
Social inclusion : participation of SC/ST and women
| Year | SC | ST | Women |
| 2006-07 | 25% | 36% | 41% |
| 2007-08 | 27% | 29% | 43% |
| 2008-09 | 29.31% | 25.41% | 47.88% |
| 2009-10 (up to 13 August, 2009 | 28.94% | 23.99% | 52.01% |
Significant Impacts of NREGA so far
Employment opportunities and wage rates have gone up leading to significant dent in poverty in rural areas. Minimum wages for agricultural labourers have increased after the implementation of NREGA in Maharashtra from Rs.47 to Rs.72, in Uttar Pradesh from Rs.58 to Rs.100, in Bihar from Rs.68 to Rs.81, in West Bengal from Rs.64 to Rs.75, in Madhya Pradesh from Rs.58 to Rs.85, in Jammu & Kashmir from Rs.45 to Rs.70, and in Chhattisgarh from Rs.58 to Rs.72, to name a few States. At the National Level, the average wages paid under NREGA has increased from Rs.65 in 2006-07 to Rs.84 in 2008-09. In the same year over 67% of the funds have been utilized in the form of wages(Rs.18146.93Crore). Increase in wage rate and number of workdays in rural areas has increased the income of rural households. Increase in income has resulted in increase in ability of rural households to purchase foodgrains, other essential commodities, and to access education and health care.
Rise in water table in dry and arid regions as large number of water conservation and drought proofing works have been taken up under NREGA. In Financial year 2008-09, upto mid-December,2008, 20.71 lakh works have been undertaken, of which 47% relate to water conservation, provision of irrigation facility to individual beneficiaries constituted around 19%, rural connectivity 17%, land development 16% and remaining 1% of works related to other activities.
Panchayati Raj Institutions and Gram Sabhas have been activated. More than 5.77 crores savings accounts in the banks and Post Offices have been opened for the NREGA workers.Insurance cover under Janashree Bima Yojana and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana being extended to NREGS workers.
1.16 crores muster rolls and 5.7 crore job cards have been put on the website (nrega.nic.in).A toll free number 1800110707 set up to enable workers and other persons to submit complaints and queries to the Government of India. Helpline also set up by States like Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa and Uttar Pradesh.
Social audit has been conducted in 1.8 lakhs Gram Panchayats. states have been directed to conduct social audit of each and every work of NREGA within 3 months.
In order to ensure guaranteed employment to the households, intensive IEC activities have been undertaken to generate greater awareness among rural households about their legal rights under the Act. It has been emphasized upon the States to employ dedicated staff in the implementing agencies. Salary of such dedicated staff is met out of the administrative expenditure admissible under the Act. States have also been directed to ensure that adequate number of works are available to meet the labour demand. Implementation of NREG Act is monitored on regular basis. National level Monitors (NLMs) and Area Officers visit various districts to oversee the progress of the Act. Professional institutions such as IIMs, IITs, Agricultural Universities and other Social Sciences Institutes have been engaged to assess the implementation of NREGA in the States. Payments of wages to unskilled workers is through the Banks and Post Offices has been one of the important tools in the act to ensure transparency. A comprehensive Web-based MIS www.nrega.nic.in places all data in public domain and a Citizen Information Board has been introduced for display at all prominent places. A grievance redressal mechanism and National toll-free telephone Helpline under NREGA have been set up to receive the complaints and queries relating to NREGA. States have also been requested to set up similar helplines. The act has been instrumental in coming to the help of the rural masses people and with further improvements it is poised to play a vital role in times to come.
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PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
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SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES MEET ON SANITATION
New Delhi, Sravana 28, 1931
August 19, 2009
A two-day meeting of the Inter Country Working Group for South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN) was inaugurated in New Delhi today by the Union Minister of Rural Development Dr. C.P.Joshi. Addressing the delegates, Dr. Joshi stated that 'Sanitation has a strong connection not only with personal hygiene but also with human dignity and well-being, public health, nutrition and even education'. Quoting Mahatma Gandh's dream of 'total sanitation for all' he said that cleanliness and sanitation were an integral part of the Gandhian way of living.
Country Delegates from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal and India are participating in the meeting. Delegates / experts from UN, International Agencies like UNICEF, Water-AID,FANSA and WSP-SA are also participating in the meeting.
Ms. Agatha Sangma, Minister of State of Rural Development, in her Presidential address emphasised the key role of women in achieving total sanitation and stressed that greater attention on the sanitation needs of adolescent girls is needed.
Shri Shantanu Counsul, Secretary of the Department of Drinking Water Supply made suggestions for improving the reach and use of sanitation facilities in the region.
The Inter Country Working Group meeting has been organized in pursuance of one of the commitments made in the Delhi Declaration adopted by the Third South Asian Conference on Sanitation held in New Delhi last year. It will deliberate upon various steps taken by member countries as a follow up of the commitments made in the Delhi Declaration. The next South Asian Conference on Sanitation is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in 2010.
The meeting will also explore ways to build solidarity, resources networks and institutions and to promote inter Governmental and cross country co-operation to develop capacities to achieve sustainable sanitation.
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PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
*****
NATION TO CELEBRATE 'RAJIV GANDHI AKSHAYA URJA DIWAS' TOMORROW
New Delhi Sravana 28, 1931
August 19, 2009
An effective and far-reaching mass awareness campaign about renewable energy is organised as 'Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas' across the country every year on 20th of August to commemorate the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister, late Rajiv Gandhi. The event advocates the essence of renewable energy in the sectors of bio energy, wind, hydro and solar energy, since Rajiv Gandhi had a vision for India's scientific advancement which would enable the nation to leap in to the 21st century.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources has been promoting technological innovation to successfully utilise renewal energy sources such as solar, wind, hydropower, biomass and urban and industrial waste.
Reaching renewal energy to the people and convincing end users of the benefits calls for public awareness programmes. Hence, the government has been organising awareness drive on the very day in terms of mass rallies, formation of human chains, organising essay, quiz, slogan-writing and painting competitions, and debates, seminars and group discussions, etc. on renewable energy. The National Functions were organized in Delhi in 2004 and 2005. During 2006, 2007 and 2008, the National Functions were organized at Nagpur, Hyderabad and Panchkula (Haryana) respectively.
This year the national function is being held in Jaipur, the pink city. Various programmes have been proposed befitting the occasion which include a marathon. In order to create awareness about the use of non-conventional energy and energy conservation amongst the students, activities such as drawing, posters,essay-writing, debate, quiz competition, etc are being organized.
The highlights of the celebrations this year are the Akshay Urja Runs in different categories with attractive cash prizes. These include half marathon for men (21 km) and for women (16 km) with prize money of Rs 51,000, Rs 31,000 and Rs.21,000 for first, second and third prizes, respectively, in both the categories.
The main function will be held at Birla Auditorium on August 20, 2009 with Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah as the chief guest. Chief Miinister of Rajasthan, Shri Ashok Gehlot will preside over the function. PRA
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PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
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GOVERNMENT TO PROMOTE COLLABORATIONS IN MINING TECHNOLOGY : HANDIQUE
New Delhi, August 19, 2009
The Minister of Mines and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, Shri B.K. Handique has said that the Government seeks to promote collaboration in upgradation of mining technology in the country. He said this while delivering inaugural address at a seminar on "Indian Mining: Strategies for Growth - Focusing on Convergence, Regulation and Technology" here today. The seminar was jointly organized by the Ministry of Mines and the Confederation of Indian Industry, CII.
Shri Handique said that based on the policy guidelines enunciated in the new Mineral Policy, the Government is deliberating changes to the mining laws. He informed that in the new policy, the Central Government in consultation with State Governments shall formulate legal measures necessary for giving effect to new National Mineral Policy, 2008, to ensure basic uniformity in mineral administration across the country. It will also ensure that the development of mineral resources keeps pace, and is in consonance with the national goals. Accordingly, the Ministry of Mines has initiated an exercise to suitably prepare a mining legislation in consultation with the State Governments of Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and West Bengal, he added.
The Minister said, "Our effort would be to create a transparent concession approval system and a level playing field for all investor and entrepreneur. At the same time we will ensure that mining in India is made more scientific and within a sustainable development frame work so that it is seen not as an activity resented and resisted by local Communities, but welcomed as agents of change and progress for the host population".
Appreciating the roll of CII, the Minister said that CII has been playing a pro-active role in country's industrial development through close interaction with the Government on policy issues, promoting efficiency, encouraging competitiveness, and expanding business opportunities for industry.
The representatives of CII and senior officials of the Ministry of Mines were also present on the occasion.
*Photographs available at pib.nic.in
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