The centre allocated more work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in April and May than in the corresponding period last year, signalling a greater job demand amid the surge in Covid-19 cases that has prompted lockdowns across the country, and pushed at least some migrant workers in the cities to return home, although the exodus is still a fraction of what was seen during the 68 day hard lockdown last year.
MGNREGS, which guarantees at least 100 days of manual work annually for at least one member of every rural household, generated 325.2 million person days of work in April. As many as 335.9 million person days of work have already been generated in the current month, showing a steep rise in job demand.
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