The Union government is likely to revamp the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and increase the number of guaranteed working days to 125 from 100, The Indian Express reported on Saturday.
The scheme will be renamed the Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana, The Hindu reported. The proposal was discussed in the Cabinet meeting on Friday.
The MGNREGS was introduced in 2005 by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and is aimed at enhancing the livelihood security of households in rural areas. The scheme guarantees 100 days of unskilled work annually for every rural household that wants it, covering all districts in the country.
Funds for the scheme are contributed by the Union and the state governments.
The Times of India quoted unidentified officials as saying that the Cabinet approved the draft legislation, titled the Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Bill, that will replace the MGNREGS.
The bill will be introduced in Parliament during the ongoing Winter Session, which will conclude on December 19.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in his press briefing after the Cabinet meeting on Friday had not listed the bill among the proposals that had been cleared.
Several states have demanded that the maximum working days under the scheme should be increased.
In April, a parliamentary standing committee urged the Union government to raise the wages under MGNREGS to at least Rs 400 per day and...
