Lower work uptake under NREGA in June | Economic Times

Millions of workers who had sought work under the rural employment guarantee scheme don’t appear to have taken it up in June, indicating a revival in industrial activity in several states after the phased easing of Covid curbs.Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data released on Wednesday had shown that the unemployment rate fell sharply in rural India in June to 8.75% from 10.63% in May. High-frequency data available for June such as e-waybills, fuel demand, exports, power consumption and mobility indicators suggest the economy picked up pace in June.Cropping SeasonThis resulted in rise in employment generation. A senior government official told ET that several workers have either gone back to towns or switched to agriculture with the cropping season starting and didn’t claim work under the scheme. "Hence work generation data is low compared to the last two months. However, the numbers are likely to move upward as the data continues to be updated," the official added.84054848Work sought under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) was the highest in the current fiscal year in June at 35 million households and 50.3 million individuals, according to rural development ministry data. However, work generated under the scheme was the lowest in the past three months, since the second wave of the pandemic, at 283 million person-days, benefitting 21.8 million households.Demand for work under the scheme generated are on a real-time basis.