Recently, the Centre has notified new wage rates (3-10 % hike, varying from state to state) for unskilled manual workers under MGNREGA, 2005 for the financial year 2024-2025.

Description: A diagram of a financial sharing scheme

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Objectives	Salient features
To provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Creation of durable assets.	Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development. Launch year: 2005 Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme Beneficiaries: All Household members aged more than 18 years and residing in rural area. Coverage: Entire country except districts having 100 % urban populations. Basis for Wage Rates: MGNREGA wages are decided based on changes in the CPI-AL (Consumer Price Index- Agriculture Labor), which reflects inflation in rural areas. Different states have different wage rates. Right to demand and receive work within 15 Days: Additional 50 days of unskilled wage employment in a financial year during drought/natural calamity and certain Schedule Tribe Households. Right to unemployment allowance and the payment is to be made in 15 days. Right to worksite facilities: It include medical aid, drinking water and shade. Geotagging of created assets: Through GeoMGNREGA of the Ministry of Rural Development in association with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO and National Informatics Centre. Key procedural features of MGNREGS: Wage to material ratio at 60:40 at GP level. It will not engage any contractor for implementation of the projects under it. At least one-third of the beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested for work under this Act. Other key features: Social Audit: The Gram Sabha shall conduct regular social audits of all the projects taken up within the Gram Panchayat (GP) under the scheme. Janmanrega: It is tool to get feedback on MGNREGA assets from citizens. Project 'UNNATI': For skilling MGNREGS beneficiaries so that they can move from the current partial employment to full-time employment.