How can we move financial privation to the museum? Listening to Ground Realities Reetika Khera, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics

“Nutrition Emergency” in India Proportion (%) of children aged under 3 years who are Underweight4746 Stunted4538 Wasted1619 Not fully vaccinated5856 Anaemic7479 Source: Dreze, Khera and Narayanan (2007)

The Legal Framework oDirective Principles (Articles 39 and 47): The state shall o“in particular, direct its policy towards securing— o(a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood;” o“..regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties”

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) A step towards the right to work, as an aspect of the fundamental right to live with dignity. Employment on demand: within 15 days Legal right: entitlement to unemployment allowance Universal entitlement Minimum wages within 15 days of working

NREGA: Employment Generation and Expenditure * Total: Employment (crore person-days) Expenditure (Rs. crores)15,85727,250 Expenditure on wage (% of total) 6867 Expenditure (as % of GDP)< Employment per rural household employed on NREGA (person-days): 4248 * Data pertains to the 330 districts covered under NREGA at the time.

Share (%) of Disadvantaged Groups in NREGA Employment  Women:4248  Scheduled Tribes (ST):2925  Scheduled Castes (SC):2729  SC/ST Combined:5654

NREGA and “financial privation”  Social security for the able-bodied  Women’s empowerment  Asset creation in rural areas  Financial Inclusion  Distress migration  Revitalizing Panchayati Raj institutions

NREGA in the Hindi heartland Findings from a survey in six states (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh)

NREGA workers belong to the most disadvantaged social groups Proportion (%) of sample workers who are: Men Women  SC/ST7175  Illiterate5282  In “kachha” homes8181  Without electricity 7762

There is massive demand for NREGA work Proportion (%) of sample workers who want  At least 100 days of NREGA work98  NREGA work throughout the year50

Employment Generation: Big jump… Average days of NREGA work per sample household in the past 12 months  All survey states43  Interstate variations Pati (Badwani district)85 Rajasthan71 Bihar23

… but way below demand Proportion (%) of sample households that got 100 days of NREGA employment  All survey states14  Interstate variations Pati (Badwani district)47 Rajasthan36 Chhattisgarh 1

Women’s participation: Highly uneven Proportion (%) of women among sample workers Rajasthan71 Madhya Pradesh 44 Chhattisgarh 25 Jharkhand 18 Bihar 13 Uttar Pradesh 5 All survey states 32

Empowering women Proportion (%) of sample women who:*  Collect their own wages79 (92)  Kept their own wages68 (51)  Had no other source of cash income in the past 3 months70 (44) * In brackets, the corresponding figures for men.

Minimum wages: getting there… MenWomen (Rs./day)  Agricultural wages53 47  Other casual labour71 53  NREGA wage*  Minimum wage*88 88 * Unweighted average of worksite-specific figures.

NREGA: Just “playing with mud?” Proportion (%) of worksites where the work being done was considered “useful”:  by the labourers70  by the survey team81 Proportion (%) of worksites where asset being created was considered “useful” by the survey team:87

Financial Inclusion and NREGA  Accounts opened * 8.84 Of which Joint7.84 Banks4.84  Proportion (%) of respondents who preferred accounts to cash payments85 Concerns: “Business correspondent model” Transparency safeguards * In crores. Source:

Awareness levels are still very low Proportion (%) of sample workers who were aware of their entitlement to: 100 days of work52 Minimum wage56 Timely payment of wages 56

Wage Payments: Plenty of complaints Proportion (%) of worksites where workers had the following complaints:  Delays in wage payment 57  Non-payment of minimum wage 47  Work is too hard43

“NREGA-2”: Politics vs. Labourers concerns Issues  Low levels of awareness  Lack of work  Delayed wage payments  Poor/non-existent grievance redressal Recent amendments to the NREGA  Renaming of the Act  Expansion of list of works Works on private lands Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras