Q.What is MGNREGA? Explain its main objectives.

MGNREGA is a law that guarantees at least 100 days of paid unskilled manual work per year to rural households, aimed at providing a wage-employment safety net against rural poverty. …

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), originally enacted as NREGA in 2005, is a landmark rural employment law in India.

Main objectives:

1. Guarantee of wage employment — it legally guarantees at least 100 days of unskilled manual wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer for such work.
2. Income security during lean season — by providing work when agricultural employment is scarce (the off-season), it protects rural households from a sharp fall in income and reduces distress migration to cities.
3. Creation of durable rural assets — the work undertaken (such as water conservation, rural roads, and land development) is intended to create productive community assets alongside providing wages.
4. Reduction of rural poverty and vulnerability — by acting as a wage floor and safety net, MGNREGA aims to prevent rural households from falling into acute poverty during shocks such as a poor monsoon.
5. Women's participation — the Act mandates that at least one-third of the beneficiaries be women, promoting women's economic participation. …

A common error is stating MGNREGA guarantees "a job" rather than a specific number of days (100) of wage employment, or forgetting that it is a legal enti …