CHALLENGES AND OPTIONS OF WOMEN WORKERS IN MAHATMA GANDHI NREGS: A KALEIDOSCOPIC VIEW

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), passed in 2005 is the largest SSN programme ever launched in India. Apart from the provision of employment, the Act also considers the creation of durable economic assets to strengthen the resource base of the rural poor as the prime motive of the scheme. One of the striking feature of the MGNREGA is that the Act incorporates the principles of gender equity and empowerment in its design as opposed to other development initiatives which are gender neutral. Though women empowerment was not among the original intentions of the Act, the distinctive features of the Act has attracted more women into the scheme. The paper seeks to examine the salient features of the Act pertaining to women workers and the challenges and options opens up through the scheme in enhancing the capabilities of women.