New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved a bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The flagship rural employment programme will be rechristened as Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojana, officials said.
The proposed legislation also seeks to enhance the guaranteed number of employment days under the scheme from the existing 100 days to 125 days in a year. Introduced in 2005 by the UPA government, the programme is widely known by its abbreviations MGNREGA or NREGA.
Currently bearing an English name, the scheme is set to be renamed in Hindi through the new bill, reflecting the government’s move to adopt a Hindi nomenclature. Labour unions and opposition parties have long been demanding an increase in the number of guaranteed workdays, citing rising rural distress.
According to officials, the government is likely to introduce the bill in Parliament during the current session.
