FIFTEEN YEARS OF INDIA'S MGNREGA: EMPLOYER OF THE LAST RESORT?

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of India was enacted by the Government of India with the prime objective of improving the security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing 100 days of wage employment annually to every rural household who wishes to work and ask for unskilled manual work. In this paper we have made an attempt to assess the performance of the scheme particularly in the context of how it has delivered benefits to women in the rural areas during the last fifteen years. The study found that women's socio-economic conditions have improved gradually; however, there are developmental initiatives that can be incorporated into the plan to hasten the rate of this improvement. In this context, multi-agency strategy could potentially be a successful plan for the improvement of the socio-economic situation of the rural people in the country in general and the women in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]