MGNREGS employment days have forum flags.

• Average workdays per household under the scheme fell from 52.08 days in 2023-24 to 44.62 days in 2024-25, according to a consortium of non-profit organisations.

• The number of person days fell from 312.37 crore in 2023-24 to 239.67 crore in 2024-25.

• The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, a consortium of MGNREGS workers and NGOs, attributed the low budgetary allocation to the government’s neglect of the rural workforce.

• The deficit stood at ₹9,860 crore as of February 1, with pending wages of ₹6,948.55 crore as of January 25.

• The effective allocation for 2025-26 is expected to be no more than ₹70,000 crore, approximately ₹4,000 crore less than the previous year’s.

• The government’s neglect of the scheme exposes its “indifference to rural livelihoods” and reduces MGNREGS’s reach, leaving drought-hit and poor rural workers stranded.