3. MGNREGS Implementations and the Dynamics of Rural Labour Markets

National economy of India has been growing rapidly in the last two decades; however, growth on employment level has not been commensurate with growth in the national economy. While faster growth of economy is beneficial to various stakeholders, employment growth is more important to reduce poverty in the economy. The experience of welfare programmes in India shows that considerable efforts have been made in terms of effectiveness in their implementations and providing wider coverage to all the needed population. This chapter evaluates differential impact of MGNREGA on the extent of fulfilment of the basic entitlements such as days of employment, wages and earnings and the extent of coverage of social groups like dalits, adivasis and women and vulnerable groups. There is a growing evidence of an increase in agricultural wages across the country over the period between 2006–07 and 2011–12, in which the impact of MGNREGA on the poor community is considerable. This review has also revealed a steep increase in female agriculture wages and a substantive decline in the male–female wage gap over the period. The search for information on the impact of MGNREGA on agricultural labour markets leads to some evidence on labour shortage, changes in wage structures, reduced distress migration, speeding up mechanization process, and peak season adjustment of work or adoption of MGNREGA calendar for its implementation.