MGNREGA at Village Level — Set 6

Correct Answer: B. B) 150 days

Under normal circumstances MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of employment per household per year. However, in case of notified drought, flood, or natural calamity conditions, the Central Government may increase the employment guarantee to 150 days per household per year for affected areas. Additionally, households in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe-dominated districts notified by the Central Government may receive up to 150 days. The state of Rajasthan was among the first to receive 150 days sanction during severe drought conditions. This flexibility ensures MGNREGA can scale up as an emergency response mechanism during disasters.

Correct Answer: B. B) To establish and support independent Social Audit Units (SAUs) at state level

The State Nodal Agency for Social Audit under MGNREGA is responsible for establishing and supporting the Social Audit Unit (SAU) which independently conducts social audits of MGNREGA works. The SAU is required to be kept separate from the state Rural Development Department that implements MGNREGA, to ensure independence. The Social Audit Rules 2011 mandate that every state have a SAU to facilitate Gram Sabha-level social audits twice a year. The SAU trains village-level resource persons, prepares audit reports, and follows up on action taken against irregularities. Several High Courts and the Supreme Court have directed states to strengthen their SAUs.

Correct Answer: B. B) Works done on land or assets owned by individual poor households (SC/ST, BPL, small/marginal farmers)

The Individual Beneficiary Scheme (IBS) component of MGNREGA allows works to be taken up on land or assets belonging to individual households from specified categories — Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Below Poverty Line families, small and marginal farmers, and beneficiaries of land reform and Indira Awaas Yojana. Under IBS, individual households can get works like farm ponds, soil and water conservation structures, horticulture plantations, and cattle sheds constructed on their private land using MGNREGA labour. IBS works help build productive assets for the poorest rural households and are particularly impactful for landless or marginal farmers with small plots.

Correct Answer: B. B) Rs. 1,11,500 crore due to COVID-19 pandemic response and returning migrants

In FY 2020-21, MGNREGA expenditure reached a record Rs. 1,11,500 crore (approximately), driven by the COVID-19 pandemic response. Millions of migrant workers returned to rural areas following the national lockdown and sought employment under MGNREGA. The Central Government supplemented the original budget allocation with multiple additional releases to meet this surge in demand. MGNREGA generated record person-days of employment (approximately 389 crore) in 2020-21, demonstrating its role as an economic cushion during crises. This exceptional year highlighted MGNREGA's function as an automatic stabiliser in the rural economy during emergencies.

Correct Answer: B. B) MGNREGA labour is used for digging soak pits and leach pits under SBM-G convergence

Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) and MGNREGA have a well-established convergence where MGNREGA provides the unskilled labour component for construction of individual household latrines (IHHLs), soak pits, leach pits, and community sanitation complexes. Under this convergence, SBM-G provides the material cost and cash incentive while MGNREGA provides wages for the construction labour. This arrangement enables BPL households to construct toilets without any out-of-pocket expenditure. The convergence has been particularly effective in accelerating toilet construction in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha, contributing to achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.

Correct Answer: B. B) It is a state government employment scheme supplementing MGNREGA's 100-day guarantee

Several states have launched their own employment guarantee schemes under names like 'Mukhyamantri Grameen Rozgar Yojana' to supplement MGNREGA's 100-day guarantee with additional employment days funded from state resources. These state schemes fill the gap during periods when MGNREGA funds are exhausted or to provide more than 100 days to poor households. States like Odisha (Mukhya Mantri Karma Tatpara Abhiyan) and Chhattisgarh have launched such supplementary schemes. This reflects the federal spirit of MGNREGA, which allows states to build upon the central guarantee framework with their own additional provisions.

Correct Answer: C. C) 14 days

Under MGNREGA, a worker can demand a minimum of 14 days of continuous work at any one time. This provision ensures that the works undertaken are of sufficient scale to be productive and to justify the cost of mobilisation. Workers cannot demand single days of employment, which would make project planning and execution inefficient. After completing a work, workers can apply again for the next phase. This 14-day minimum also ensures that muster rolls and measurement are practical and verifiable. However, states may have varying local practices within the overall framework of the Act.

Correct Answer: B. B) A performance monitoring system linking financial inputs to physical outputs and outcomes

The Outcome Budget framework for MGNREGA links financial inputs (expenditure, person-days generated) to physical outputs (assets created, households served) and outcomes (poverty reduction, wage improvement, migration reduction). The Ministry of Rural Development publishes annual outcome budgets showing targets vs. achievements across key parameters. This framework shifts monitoring from mere expenditure tracking to assessing the actual impact on beneficiaries' lives. The MIS data powers the outcome budget reporting, enabling transparent comparison of state-wise performance. Outcome-based monitoring helps identify lagging states and redirect support to improve implementation quality.

Correct Answer: B. B) PM-KISAN is an income support transfer to farmers, while MGNREGA is a wage employment guarantee for rural labour

PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) is a direct income support scheme providing Rs. 6,000 per year to eligible small and marginal landholder farmers, transferred directly to their bank accounts in three instalments. It is fundamentally different from MGNREGA in that PM-KISAN is an unconditional income transfer while MGNREGA is a work-based wage employment guarantee. PM-KISAN targets landholding farmers while MGNREGA primarily targets landless agricultural labourers and marginal farm households. Together, PM-KISAN and MGNREGA form complementary pillars of rural income support — one targeting farm income and the other farm labour employment.

Correct Answer: B. B) Differently-abled persons may be assigned lighter tasks and are entitled to equal wages

MGNREGA includes provisions for persons with disabilities (PwD) in its implementation guidelines. Differently-abled workers must be assigned tasks suitable to their physical capacity, including lighter works such as carrying water, maintaining records, or providing work-site facilitation. They are entitled to the same minimum wage as other workers for equivalent work done. The Ministry of Rural Development has issued guidelines encouraging states to include PwD in MGNREGA rolls and assign them appropriate works. Some states have innovatively used PwD as social mobilisers, resource persons, or Gram Rozgar Sevaks under the programme.