MGNREGS Employment: Seasonality and COVID-19 Effect

Authors

  • Satyanarayana Turangi Centre for Wage Employment & Livelihoods, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25175/jrd/2021/v40/i1/166503

Keywords:

MGNREGS, Seasonality, COVID-19, Lockdown, Unlock.

Abstract

For the past 15 years, the rural employment guarantee scheme has been providing employment to rural households when there is a demand. In practice, the demand for MGNREGS employment will not arise uniformly throughout the year. This article aims at analysing the households’ dependency on MGNREGS in different cropping seasons. In general, households’ dependency on MGNREGS is very high during the summer months. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic spread in the summer of 2020 has adversely affected all the sectors of the economy that led to massive unemployment. At that time, MGNREGS was the only source of livelihood for millions of rural households. How did the imposed lockdowns influence the employment generation under MGNREGS? What happened to MGNREGS employment after the announcement of unlocks at different phases? The present article explores the answers to these questions by studying the monthly trends in employment generation under the scheme.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Published

2021-10-04

How to Cite

Turangi, S. (2021). MGNREGS Employment: Seasonality and COVID-19 Effect. Journal of Rural Development, 40(1), 61–79. https://doi.org/10.25175/jrd/2021/v40/i1/166503

References

Adhikari, A., & Bhatia, K. (2010). NREGA Wage Payments: Can We Bank on the Banks? Economic and Political Weekly. 45(1), pp. 30-37.

Agarwal, A. & V.K. Paikra. (2020). Why MNREGA wages are so low. The Print. October 12. Retrieved from https://theprint.in/opinion/why-mnrega-wages-are-so-low/520982/

Athreya, V., (2020). Indian Economy during the pandemic period: Disastrous policies wreck peoples’ lives. Retrieved from https://www.cpim.org/views/indian-economy-during-pandemic-period-disastrous-policies-wreck-people%E2%80%99s-lives

Azam, M. (2012). The Impact of Indian Job Guarantee Scheme on Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from a Natural Experiment. Discussion Paper No.6548, Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA), Bonn.

Berg, E., et al. (2012). Can Rural Public Works Affect Agricultural Wages? Evidence from India. WPS/2012-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies.

GoI. (2018). Report of the Fourth Common Review Mission. New Delhi: Ministry of Rural Development.

GoI. (2019a). Annual Report, Periodic Labour Force Survey (July 2017-June 2018). New Delhi: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

GoI. (2019b). National Level Monitoring of Rural Development Programmes 2018-19 (Phase-I). New Delhi: Ministry of Rural Development.

Harish, B., et al. (2011). Impacts and Implications of MGNREGA on Labour Supply and Income Generation for Agriculture in Central Dry Zone of Karnataka. Agricultural Economics Research Review, 24 (Conference Number), pp. 485-494.

Imbert, C., & Papp, J. (2015). Labor Market Effects of Social programs: Evidence from India’s Employment Guarantee. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 07(02). Pp. 233-263.

Jakimow, T. (2014). 'Breaking the Backbone of Farmers': Contestations in a Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 41(2), pp. 263-281.

Kareemulla, K., et al. (2013). Impact of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India on Rural Poverty and Food Security. Current Agricultural Research Journal, 1(1), pp. 13-28.

Kanda, M., et al. (2011). Report of State level Committee to Study the Problems of Farmers in Crop Holiday Affected Mandals of East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad: Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Mishra, R.N., Viswanathan, P.K. & Battarai, M. (2017). Impacts of MGNREGA Programme on Income, Assets and Food Security of Poor and Vulnerable Groups: Evidence from Selected Semi-Arid Tropic (SAT) Villages in India. In Kumaran, K. P., Nath, P.K., Prabhakar K. & N. Kalpalatha (Eds). Flagship Programmes: Impact, Problems and Challenges Ahead. New Delhi: Academic Foundation.

Mohanty, P. (2019). MGNREGA: Wages Remain Below the Minimum Wages, Yearly Hikes Too Little Since 2017. India Today. April 8. Retrieved from https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/mgnrega-wages-remain-below-the-minimum-wages-yearly-hikes-too-little-since-2017-1496629-2019-04-08.

Nandy, D., (2019). Underfunding, Misleading Claims: The Story of MGNREGA in New India. Down To Earth. July 15. Retrieved from https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/economy/underfunding-misleading-claims-the-story-of-mgnrega-in-new-india-65627

Nair, S. (2019). MGNREGA Wages Fall Below Minimum Wage in 34 States, Union Territories. The Indian Express. April 2. Retrieved from https://indianexpress.com/article/india/mgnrega-wages-fall-below-minimum-wage-in-34-states-union-territories-5653792/

Narayanan, R., Dhorajiwala, S. & Golani, R. (2019). Analysis of Payment Delays and Delay Compensation in MGNREGA: Findings Across Ten States for Financial Year 2016–2017. Indian Journal of Labour Economics. 62(1), pp. 113–133.

Prasad, S. (2014). MGNREGA: A Strategy to Overcome Labour Shortage in Agriculture. International Journal of Agricultural Extension, 02(01), pp. 57-64.

Rawal, V., Manish Kumar, Ankur Verma & Jesim Pais. (2020). Covid-19 Lockdown: Impact on Agriculture and Rural Economy. SSER Monograph 20/3. New Delhi: Society for Social and Economic Research.

Reddy, D.N. (2011). NREGS and Indian Agriculture: Opportunities and Challenges. WP01/2011. New Delhi: Institute for Human Development. Retrieved from www.ihdindia.org/Working Ppaers/2011/Wp 012011_DN Reddy.pdf

Reddy, D. N., A. Amarender Reddy, & M.C.S. Bantilan. (2014). The Impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on Rural Labor Markets and Agriculture. India Review, 13(3), August 13: pp. 251-273.

Srivatsava, R. (2020). Understanding Circular Migration in India: Its Nature and Dimensions, the Crisis under Lockdown and the Response of the State. IHD-CES Working Paper Series. WP 04/2020. New Delhi: Institute for Human Development. Retrieved from http://www.ihdindia.org/Working%20Ppaers/2020/IHD-CES_WP_04_2020.pdf

Vasudevan, et al. (2020). MGNREGA in the Times of COVID-19 and Beyond: Can India do More with Less? The Indian Journal of Labour Economics. 63(3), pp. 799-814.

Vyas, M. (2020). Impact of Lockdown on Labour in India. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics. 63(1), October 2020, pp. 73–77.