The thrust of the Eleventh Five Year Plan is social inclusion coupled with provision of improved live opportunities. This approach calls for renewed emphasis on education, health and other basic facilities.

Inadequate access to these essential services directly limits the welfare of large section our population, and also denies them the opportunity to share fully in the growth process.

  • Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA)
  • National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)
  • Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
  • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
  • Mid Day Meal (MDM)
  • Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC)
  • National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)
  • Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF)

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Ensuring a minimum level of livelihood security in the rural areas has been one of the daunting tasks for successive governments.

Evolving the design of the wage employment programmes to more effectively fight poverty, the Central Government formulated the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 2005. ‘National Rural Employment Guarantee Act’ 2005 (NREGA) was launched with effect from 2nd February, 2006.During 2009-10, through an amendment the NREGA has been rechristened as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

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Being the first ever law internationally, that guarantees wage employment on an unprecedented scale, MGNREGA aims at enhancing livelihood security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

Unique features of the Act inter alia include, time bound employment guarantee and wage payment within 15 days, incentive- disincentive structure to the state governments for providing or not providing employment as per demand, emphasis on labour intensive works, prohibiting the use of contractors and machinery, ensure the creation of durable community, social and economic infrastructure and assets in the rural areas. The Act also mandates 33 percent participation for women.