IMPACT OF MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURALEMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME ON THE SOCIO - ECONOMIC WELL - BEING OF BENEFICIARIES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ELAPPULLY GRAMA PANCHAYATH, PALAKKAD DISTRICT

Rural unemployment is one of the major problems faced by our Indian economy. Employment generation programmes have become important in developing as well as under developed countries to reduce the poverty and unemployment.The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is one of the significant employment generation programmes introduced by Indian Government in rural areas to curb the problem of unemployment. The study investigated the impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on the socio-economic well-being of beneficiaries in Elappully Grama Panchayath of Palakkad district. It also examined the demographic characteristics and satisfaction level of the beneficiaries towards various factors associated with the scheme. A descriptive study was conducted and data were collected from a random sample of 210 workers who are working under the scheme. The participation of women is found to be higher than male workers. Majority of the beneficiaries choose the scheme as an additional source of income generation, not the main source.The beneficiaries are not satisfied with the wages, welfare measures and number of working days provided under the scheme. The study revealed that MGNREGS failed to bring a significant change in socio-economic well-being of the beneficiaries