IMPACT OF MGNREGA ON GENDER AND SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

In February 2006, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), India's flagship rural employment scheme, was inaugurated. It is the largest and most comprehensive social security and public works programme in the world. The purpose of this article is to investigate women's participation in the MGNREGA programme and to make a few recommendations for its effective implementation. The MGNREGA's essential principles and high potential have been thoroughly established seven years after its adoption. The fact that nearly a quarter (25 percent) of all rural households in the country engage in the programme each year attests to its widespread appeal. With a countrywide participation rate of 47%, research suggests that women are more actively participating in the scheme than in other occupations. According to research, MGNREGA provides an essential job option for women who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. According to preliminary studies, MGNREGA's expanded access to paid job has benefited women's socioeconomic standing and general well-being. Women have more control over their wages after MGNREGA, according to several surveys, and have been spending them on repaying modest debts, paying for their children's schooling, and covering medical bills, among other things. Women's mobilisation through community-based organisations has boosted outreach and raised awareness, as well as increased women's engagement in all parts of the Scheme. Women rely extensively on natural common property resources such as water, fuel, and so on, and because MGNREGA plays a key role in natural resource regeneration, the Scheme appears to be bolstering women's livelihood stability.