Choking the Lifeline of the Rural Economy: MGNREGS during the COVID-19 lockdown Manish Kumar

This paper shows that the lack of planning and preparation before implementation of the lockdown resulted in closure of all MGNREGS work for about one month during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Although the government exempted the MGNREGS from lockdown restrictions on April 20th, the revival of work under the scheme has been slow. In terms of employment creation, April 2020 was the worst month in last 10 years for which data were available. Problems in availability of funds and other administrative hurdles are the main reasons for this. The paper argues that a significant enhancement of employment creation through the MGNREGS can be critical for the revival of the economy for which collapse of demand is currently the biggest hurdle.

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