Executive Summary:
The Ministry of Rural Development addressed concerns regarding the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app used for attendance in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The ministry detailed provisions for handling network issues and exemptions, reporting a 95.59% attendance rate via NMMS as of July 25, 2025. The ministry also provided a state-wise breakdown of NMMS-related complaints received and their resolution status.
Key Points / Main Content:
NMMS Implementation and Usage:
* NMMS app is used to capture attendance with geotagged photographs twice daily for all MGNREGS works except Individual Beneficiary Work, effective January 1, 2023.
* Offline mode is available for areas with network issues; attendance can be uploaded when connectivity is restored.
* District Program Coordinators (now decentralized to the Block level) can grant exemptions in exceptional circumstances where attendance upload fails.
* 95.59% attendance marked through NMMS as of July 25, 2025.
* Continuous enhancements are being made based on feedback, including eye blink, head count, Mateid mapping, and photo verification.
Addressing Concerns and Discrepancies:
* No instances of wage loss due to NMMS have been reported.
* Issues raised by States/UTs are addressed by the Ministry in a timely manner.
* The implementation of NMMS has improved attendance management, overall efficiency, and timely wage payments.
* No reported cases of attendance data discrepancies between NMMS app and physical muster rolls.
Complaints Handling:
* 95 complaints related to the NMMS app were received via the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAM).
* 57 out of the 95 complaints have been resolved.
Impact Analysis:
State Governments/UTs:
* Impact: Responsible for ensuring attendance capture through the NMMS app and addressing network issues or exceptional circumstances.
* Action Required: Ensure workers' attendance is accurately recorded, utilize offline mode and exemption provisions when necessary, and report any issues to the Ministry.
MGNREGS Workers:
* Impact: Attendance is recorded via the NMMS app, potentially affecting wage payments.
* Action Required: Ensure attendance is recorded at the worksite, and report any issues with the app or attendance recording to the relevant authorities.
Ministry of Rural Development:
* Impact: Responsible for overseeing the implementation of NMMS and addressing any issues raised by States/UTs.
* Action Required: Continuously improve the NMMS app based on feedback, resolve issues reported by States/UTs in a timely manner, and monitor the effectiveness of the system.
District Program Coordinators/Block Level Authorities:
* Impact: Responsible for granting exemptions in exceptional circumstances where attendance upload fails.
* Action Required: Process exemption requests fairly and efficiently, ensuring that no worker is denied wages unjustly.
Key Entities Referenced
National Mobile Monitoring System NMMS: A mobile application used for capturing worker attendance at worksites under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme Mahatma Gandhi NREGS: A flagship rural employment scheme in India that guarantees wage employment to rural households.
Ministry of Rural Development: The Indian government ministry responsible for rural development programs, including the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS.
Shri Imran Masood: Member of Parliament who raised a question in Lok Sabha regarding discrepancies in the NMMS app.
SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN: Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development who provided the answer to the Lok Sabha question.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India where complaints were registered regarding issues with the NMMS app.
Uttar Pradesh: A state in India where complaints were registered regarding issues with the NMMS app.
Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System CPGRAM: A system used for registering and monitoring public grievances related to government services.
O.I.H.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1492
ANSWERED ON 29/07/2025
DISCREPANCIES IN NMMS APP
1492. Shri Imran Masood:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) the number of the workers could not mark their attendance
due to problems in the National Mobile Monitoring System
(NMMS) attendance app and the system adopted by the
Government to assess the issue, State-wise;
(b) the details of the total number of discrepancies found in
attendance between the NMMS app and the physical muster
roll between April 2023 and October 31, 2024, State-wise;
(c) the guidelines issued by the Government to ensure that no
worker is denied wages for not being able to mark attendance
on the NMMS app; and
(d) the number of the complaints registered regarding issues
related to NMMS App and the action taken on the said
complaints, State-wise?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a)to (c): To ensure transparency and accountability in the
implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), the Ministry has
decided that States/UTs shall ensure capturing of attendance at the
worksite through National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) App
with two-time stamped, geo-tagged photographs of the workers in a
day for all the works (except Individual Beneficiary Work) through
NMMS w.e.f. 1st January, 2023.
In order to avoid any inconvenience to the workers due to
NMMS, provision has been made that in case any worksite is not
located in network covered area or attendance could not be
uploaded due to any other network issue then attendance can be
captured in offline mode and can be uploaded once the device
comes into network covered area. In case of exceptional
Page 1 of 3circumstances owing to which attendance could not be uploaded,
the provision for exemption at district level by District Program
Coordinator also exists, which has since been decentralized to the
Block level.
During the current financial year 2025-26 (as on 25.07.2025),
95.59 % attendance has been marked through National Mobile
Monitoring System (NMMS) under the Scheme.
With the above exception handling mechanisms in place,
no instance of loss of work or wages due to NMMS has come to the
notice of the Ministry.
It is also submitted that any issue faced by States/UTs is
taken up with Ministry on a real-time basis which in turn makes
effort to resolve the same in a time bound manner. Various
enhancements are continuously incorporated in the system to make
it more robust, based on the feedback and suggestions given by
States and other stakeholders, such as eye blink and head count
facility, Mate-id mapping, verification of photographs at various
levels etc.
The implementation of the NMMS application has significantly
improved the attendance management system and the overall
efficiency of the process. NMMS application also helps in timely
payment of wages as wage lists and FTOs can be generated on the
same day as on which the attendance has been captured, this
process took more time earlier in case of manual attendance
system.
There have been no reported cases of attendance data
discrepancies between the NMMS app and physical muster rolls.
(d): State-wise number of complaints received on the Centralized
Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAM) related
to the issues with NMMS app is given below:
S.No. State Number of complaints
1 Andhra Pradesh 1
2 Bihar 47
3 Chhatishgarh 1
4 Haryana 2
5 Karnatka 1
6 Madhya Pradesh 6
7 Odisha 3
8 Rajashthan 8
9 Tamil Naidu 10
10 Uttar Pradesh 16
Total 95
Page 2 of 3Out of the above, 95 complaints, 57 have already been disposed of
as per established procedure.
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