The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), formerly known as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), was launched in India on 2nd February 2006. The scheme was launched in all the rural districts of India in phases, with the first phase covering 200 districts. The remaining districts were covered in subsequent phases.

The NREGS guarantees 100 days of unskilled manual work in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The work under the NREGS is to be provided within 15 days of a person registering for work. The wage rate under the NREGS is set at the minimum wage notified by the respective state governments.

The NREGS has been a major success in providing employment and income security to the rural poor in India. In the financial year 2021-22, the NREGS provided employment to over 140 million people. The scheme has also helped to create durable assets in rural areas, such as roads, bridges, and water bodies.

The NREGS has been praised by many for its success in providing employment and income security to the rural poor. However, the scheme has also been criticized for its high cost and for the quality of the work that is being done under the scheme.

The NREGS is a flagship programme of the Government of India and is one of the largest social security programmes in the world. The scheme has been credited with providing employment and income security to millions of rural households in India. However, the scheme has also been criticized for its high cost and for the quality of the work that is being done under the scheme.

The NREGS is a complex programme and there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed in order to improve its effectiveness. These challenges include:

• High administrative costs: The NREGS is a very bureaucratic programme and there are a number of layers of administration involved in the implementation of the scheme. This leads to high administrative costs, which eat into the resources that are available for providing employment under the scheme.
• Poor quality of work: There have been reports of poor quality of work being done under the NREGS. This is partly due to the fact that the scheme is implemented by unskilled workers and partly due to the lack of supervision.
• Delays in wage payments: There have been reports of delays in wage payments under the NREGS. This can lead to financial hardship for the workers who are dependent on the scheme for their livelihood.
• Fraud and corruption: There have been reports of fraud and corruption in the implementation of the NREGS. This can lead to misappropriation of funds and to the denial of employment to eligible workers.

Despite these challenges, the NREGS has been a major success in providing employment and income security to the rural poor in India. The scheme has helped to reduce poverty and to improve the living standards of millions of rural households. The NREGS is a valuable social security programme and it is important to address the challenges that it faces in order to ensure its long-term sustainability.