Introduction

This Chapter introduces the volume that contains 13 Chapters on different thematic topics of MGNREGA, one of the most celebrated flagship social protection programmes of Government of India in recent years. This programme is being implemented in India since 2006. First, this Chapter provides an overview of important interventions made by the central and state governments of India to reduce poverty through Employment generation related programmes, including a historical perspective on evolution of right-based employment guarantee schemes like MGNREGA. It then describes selected features and makes a critical assessments on specific aspects of implementation of the MGNREGA programme, its implementation status, the major activities covered under MGNREGA programme, its performance and relevance. Then, we discuss growing policy concerns and uncertainties surrounding implementation of the MGNREGA programmes, the delays in payments of wage to labor force participating in the programme, fluctuation of budget allocations over the years. The Chapter then provides a synoptic view of the selected empirical studies on MGNREGA, its implementation, and outcomes across the states in India. Following this overview on MGNREGA, the Chapter presents an overview of the Chapters contained in this volume for the benefit of the readers. The Chapter concludes by highlighting the imperative for recasting the MGNREGA from the future perspective in terms of responding to the emerging challenges in rural India: (a) increasing drought induced distress conditions prevail across the states; (b) the need for making MGNREGA a broad-based programme through incorporating skill based activities and imparting technical skills to the rural workforce through the MGNREGA to ensure ling-term livelihood benefits to the programme participants, and (c) the efficacy of the programme towards sustaining the rural livelihoods.