**Executive Summary**
This document is the Government of India's response to a parliamentary question (No. 2688) regarding direct wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), answered on December 16, 2025. It addresses concerns about delays and the government's efforts to streamline wage disbursement. The document highlights the use of the National Electronic Fund Management System (NeFMS) and the Aadhar Payment Bridge System (APBS) to ensure prompt and direct payments to workers.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Mechanism for Timely Wage Disbursement:** The government has instituted the National Electronic Fund Management System (NeFMS) for the timely disbursement of wages under MGNREGS.
* **Direct Payments:** NeFMS enables the Central Government to transfer labour wages directly to the bank or post office accounts of workers.
* **Elimination of Intermediate Layers:** NeFMS eliminates intermediate layers in the fund flow, ensuring prompt, transparent, and efficient wage payments.
* **Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT):** Payments are credited by the Central Government directly to beneficiary accounts based on Fund Transfer Orders generated by States/UTs, using DBT protocol.
* **Aadhar Payment Bridge System (APBS):** APBS has been introduced to further streamline wage payments, improving targeting, increasing efficiency, and reducing delays.
* **Accountability and Transparency:** APBS helps control expenditure, promoting greater accountability and transparency and minimizing rejection of transactions.
* **Aadhar Seeding:** As of 11.12.2025, 99.67% of active workers' Aadhar details have been seeded, with over 99% receiving wages directly into their bank accounts.
* **Delinking from State Processes:** The government states that NeFMS has already been operationalized, effectively addressing delays arising from State-level administrative processes.
* **Streamlined Fund Flow:** NeFMS streamlines the fund flow mechanism by eliminating intermediate layers of approval and preventing fund parking at various levels.
* **Improved Monitoring:** The centralized NeFMS platform improves the monitoring of fund utilization and payment status, ensuring timely and efficient wage disbursement to rural workers.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Rural Workers**
* **Impact:** Benefit from faster, more transparent, and direct wage payments, reducing reliance on State government processes and delays.
* **Action Required:** Ensure their bank or post office accounts are active and linked to their Aadhar details for seamless fund transfer.
**Stakeholder: Central Government (Ministry of Rural Development)**
* **Impact:** Enhanced efficiency and control over wage disbursement under MGNREGS. Greater accountability and transparency in fund utilization.
* **Action Required:** Continue to monitor and optimize the performance of NeFMS and APBS to further improve wage payment processes.
**Stakeholder: State Governments/Union Territories**
* **Impact:** Reduced involvement in the direct wage payment process, with a greater emphasis on generating Fund Transfer Orders.
* **Action Required:** Generate Fund Transfer Orders in a timely manner to ensure timely disbursement of payments.
Key Entities Referenced
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS): A scheme guaranteeing wage employment to rural households.
National Electronic Fund Management System (NeFMS): A system for direct wage disbursement under MGNREGS.
Ministry of Rural Development: The ministry responsible for MGNREGS implementation.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Protocol for direct payment to beneficiaries.
Aadhar Payment Bridge System (APBS): Streamlines wage payment and helps in better targeting.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2688
ANSWERED ON 16/12/2025
DIRECT WAGE PAYMENT UNDER MGNREGS
2688. Shri Maddila Gurumoorthy:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware that currently there is no
green channel for direct wage payments under the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS), resulting delays and dependency on State
Government processes;
(b) whether the Government proposes to create a dedicated
mechanism or green channel for timely payment of wages
directly to the labourers by the Central Government, excluding
the material component, to ensure financial independence and
transparency;
(c) if so, the steps taken or proposed to be taken by the Ministry to
streamline wage payments directly to beneficiaries without
routing through the State Government machinery;
(d) whether the Government will consider delinking labour
component payment from State processes to ensure that poor
rural workers do not suffer due to administrative delays at the
State level; and
(e) if not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a) to (e): The Government has instituted a dedicated mechanism for
the timely disbursement of wages under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS
through the National Electronic Fund Management System (NeFMS).
This system enables the Central Government to transfer the labour
wage component directly into the bank or post office accounts of
workers. By eliminating intermediate layers in the fund flow, NeFMS
ensures prompt, transparent, and efficient wage payments, thereby
Page 1 of 2strengthening financial independence and accountability within the
programme.
The wage payment to workers are done through Direct Benefit
Transfer (DBT) protocol under which payments are credited by
Central Government directly to the accounts of beneficiary based on
Fund Transfer Orders generated by respected States/UTs. In order to
further streamline the wage payment Aadhar Payment Bridge System
(APBS) has been introduced. APBS helps in better targeting,
increasing the efficiency of the system and reducing the delays in
payments, ensuring greater inclusion by curbing leakages and
thereby, controlling expenditure and promoting greater
accountability and transparency.
APBS also help in minimizing rejection of transactions due to the
frequent changing of accounts. As on 11.12.2025, out of total 12.16
crores active workers Aadhar seeding of 99.67% of active workers
(i.e. 12.12 crores) has been completed and more than 99% wage
seekers are receiving their wages directly into their bank
accounts.
With regard to delinking of labour payment component from State
processes it is stated that the Government has already
operationalised the National Electronic Fund Management System
(NeFMS), which effectively addresses concerns related to delays
arising from State-level administrative processes. NeFMS
streamlines the fund flow mechanism by eliminating intermediate
layers of approval and preventing the parking of funds at various
levels. With improved monitoring of fund utilization and payment
status through this centralized platform, NeFMS ensures timely and
efficient wage disbursement to rural workers
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