This volume analyzes the history, objectives and impact of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) since its enactment. It looks at various aspects of the scheme, its linkage with employment, agricultural wages, food security and migration in rural India, using exhaustive empirical data from over 16 states in the country.

Parmod Kumar is Professor and Head, Agricultural Development and Rural Transformation Centre, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. He has previously worked at the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, and the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. He obtained his postdoctorate as Sir Ratan Tata Fellow from the Institute of Economic Growth and doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was fellow under the International Visitors Program sponsored by the US government. He has authored eight research volumes and published more than forty research articles in national and international journals. He is the editor of the Journal of Social and Economic Development and part of the editorial boards of Indian Journal of Agricultural Marketing and Agricultural Situation in India. He was conferred the IDRC India Social Science Research Award for his work on the public distribution system.

Dipanwita Chakraborty is Research Scholar, Agricultural Development and Rural Transformation Centre, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. She is currently pursuing her doctoral research and her interests include rural labour, gender, social protection and agriculture.

List of Tables. List of Figures. Acknowledgement. The Details of AERCs and the Lead Person Involved in the State Report. Preface. 1. Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act - A Prelude 2. Manpower Employment Generated Under MGNREGA and Their Socio-Economic Characteristics 3. Impact of MGNREGA on Real Agricultural Wages and Employment in Rural India 4. Household Characteristics:Their Income and Consumption Pattern 5. Work Profile under MGNREGA Wage Structure and Migration Issue 6. The Functioning of MGNREGA - Qualitative Aspects 7. MGNREGA Impact on Village Economy 8. Concluding Remarks and Policy Suggestions References. Annexure Table.