E-Paper
No link between MNREGA demand and migrant labour: Economic Survey
For many migrant “source states” such as West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, MGNREGA employment in most months of 2021 had been lower than the corresponding levels in 2020, the annual economic report card said.
There’s no clear relationship between movement of migrant labour and employment as well as demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural National Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), the Budget-eve Economic Survey said.
The pandemic-induced lockdowns and disruptions had pushed millions of migrant workers and day-wagers into a survival battle, as they fled urban economic hubs in large numbers back to home states. Bihar and Jharkhand account for the largest number of migrants.
“Intuitively”, the survey stated, “one may expect that higher MGNREGS demand may be directly related to the movement of migrant labour i.e. source states would be more impacted.”
However, the Survey said demand for employment at an aggregate level under MGNREGA still seemed to be above the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
For many migrant “source states” such as West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, MGNREGA employment in most months of 2021 had been lower than the corresponding levels in 2020, the annual economic report card said.
In contrast, the demand for MGNREGS employment has been higher for migrant recipient states like Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for most months in 2021 over 2020, the Survey states.
“There are still other states that do not neatly fit into this categorization.” The Survey therefore concludes that the “relationship between MGNREGS employment and movement of migrant labour during the last two years cannot be conclusively determined”. It said further research was needed into this.
On overall employment trends, the survey said while unemployment rose sharply during the lockdown imposed by the pandemic, the unemployment rate fell as the economy opened up.
While the unemployment rate gradually dipped during this period to reach 9.3 per cent in Q4 of 2020-21, the unemployment rate for males as well as females, aged 15 & above, recovered to the pre-pandemic levels. Both the LFPR and WPR for males as well as females, aged 15 & above, reached almost their pre-pandemic levels during the last quarter of 2020-21, said the Economic Survey.
The urban unemployment rate rose to 20.8% in India in the first quarter of 2020-21, the Survey said. However, as Covid-related restrictions eased and economic sectors opened up, all three labour market indicators -- labour force participation rate (LFPR), worker population ratio (WPR) and unemployment rates (UR) -- showed a “swift recovery”.
The Survey said allocation to MGNREGS in FY 2021-22 rose to ₹73,000 crore from ₹61,500 crore in FY 2020-21. Allocation for FY 2021-22 has been enhanced to ₹98000 crore so far. In FY 2021-22 over 8.70 crore individuals and 6.10 crore households were provided work so far.
“The problem still is on a net basis, job creation has lagged and a comparison with pre-pandemic levels don’t help because employment has been a big problem since 2016 onwards, when growth began tapering off,” Devi Prasad, a former labour economist with Gokhale Institute of Economics.
