Evaluation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Select States of India

A flagship programme of the UPA government, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was announced in 2005. It was introduced in 200 of the country’s most backward districts in 2006 and was expanded to cover all 615 rural districts across India in 2008. It is perhaps the largest and most ambitious social security and public works programme in the world. This chapter is dedicated to the Evaluation of MGNREGS. The two broad objectives of this chapter are: (1) To assess the extent to which this scheme has succeeded in making a positive impact so far as women's participation, social equity and financial inclusion in rural India is concerned and, (2) To understand the constraints faced in the implementation of this scheme and to see what are the remedial measures taken by the government to overcome such constraints