MGNREGA and Women's Empowerment: The Impact of Declining Fund Allocation
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Economy (Poverty, Unemployment, Social Sector Schemes - MGNREGA); Indian Polity and Governance (Key Legislations); Social Justice (Women's Issues, Rights of vulnerable sections).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 1 (Society): Role of women and women's organization; Social empowerment.
General Studies Paper 2 (Social Justice & Governance): Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for their protection and betterment.
General Studies Paper 3 (Economy): Indian Economy and issues relating to employment; Inclusive growth.
Key Highlights from the News
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) - NREGA Sangharsh Morcha alleges that the reduction in Central allocation directly affects the income of rural women.
The employment guarantee scheme played a crucial role in reducing gender-based wage discrimination in rural areas by providing same pay for the same work for both men and women.
More than 50% of the workers in the employment guarantee scheme are women. This year, women completed 56% of the total person-days. This highlights the importance of this scheme in women's empowerment.
Despite having enough workers, there is a fund shortage because the budget for the scheme is not increased. Due to this, sufficient work is not currently available.
This situation forces rural women back to a state where they are compelled to do other jobs for lower wages, similar to the period before the employment guarantee scheme.
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