**Executive Summary:**
This document is the Government of India's response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 323 regarding women's employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), answered on July 22, 2025. It addresses concerns about decreasing women's employment, details the number of women employed state/UT-wise over the last three years, and outlines measures for women's welfare under the scheme. The document clarifies that there is no proposal to provide non-transient jobs.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **Women's Employment Provisions:**
* MGNREGA prioritizes women's employment, mandating that at least one-third of beneficiaries be women who have registered and demanded work.
* Women's participation has consistently been more than 50% in the last five financial years, increasing from 48% in FY 2013-14 to 58.1% in FY 2024-25.
* **State/UT-wise Employment Data:**
* Annexure provides the number of women workers employed under MGNREGS for each State/Union Territory during the last three financial years (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25), measured in lakhs.
* **Welfare Measures for Women Workers:**
* No proposal exists to provide non-transient jobs specifically for women.
* A separate Schedule of Rates will be finalized for women, the elderly, people with disabilities to improve their participation through productive work.
* Creche facilities must be provided at worksites if there are five or more children under the age of five accompanying women workers.
* At least 50% of worksite supervisors (mates) should be women, preferably from Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
**Impact Analysis:**
**Women Workers:**
* *Impact:* Continued prioritization in MGNREGA employment, access to welfare measures like separate Schedules of Rates and creche facilities. Increased opportunity for supervisory roles.
* *Action Required:* Register and demand work under MGNREGS to avail of the scheme's benefits. Participate in Self-Help Groups to enhance opportunities for becoming worksite supervisors.
**State/UT Governments:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for implementing MGNREGA provisions related to women's employment and welfare.
* *Action Required:* Ensure that at least one-third of MGNREGS beneficiaries are women. Finalize and implement separate Schedules of Rates for women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Provide creche facilities at worksites as required and promote women as worksite supervisors.
**Ministry of Rural Development:**
* *Impact:* Oversees the implementation of MGNREGA and ensures compliance with provisions for women's employment.
* *Action Required:* Monitor women's participation in MGNREGS, ensure the provision of welfare measures, and track the progress of women in supervisory roles.
Key Entities Referenced
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS): A scheme to enhance livelihood security of households in rural areas of India by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA): The legal framework that establishes the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India.
Ministry of Rural Development: The Indian government ministry responsible for rural development programs, including MGNREGS.
SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN: Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development, who provided the answer to the Lok Sabha question.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India, where the question regarding MGNREGS employment for women was raised.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India with significant participation of women workers under MGNREGS.
Tamil Nadu: A state in India with significant participation of women workers under MGNREGS.
Self Help Groups (SHGs): Organizations of women, preferably from among the members of Self Help Groups SHGs. At least 50 of the worksite supervisors mates should be women from these SHGs
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 323
ANSWERED ON 22/07/2025
EMPLOYMENT TO WOMEN UNDER MGNREGS
323. SHRI ESWARASAMY K:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether rate of women employment under the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) has decreased over the years in rural areas;
(b) if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor;
(c) the number of women workers who were provided employment
under MGNREGS during each of the last three years, State/UT-
wise;
(d) whether Government proposes to provide non-transient/table
jobs to women workers to increase their participation under
MGNREGS and if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the details of measures taken by the Government in this
regard?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a)& (b): The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA) has special provisions for
women and it has been categorically mentioned in Schedule-II, Para
15 that while providing employment, priority shall be given to
women in such a way that at least one-third of the beneficiaries
shall be women who have registered and demanded for work under
the Scheme.
The participation of women under the scheme has consistently
been more than 50% in the last five financial years.The participation
of women has increased steadily from 48% in FY 2013-14 to 58.1 %
during the FY 2024-25.
Page 1 of 3(c): State/Union Territory (UT)-wise number of women workers who
availed of employment under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS during the
last three financial years is given at Annexure.
(d)&(e): There is no such proposal. However, there are several
provisions made under the scheme for the welfare of women
workers and their empowerment.
It has been provided that a separate Schedule of Rates shall
be finalized for women, the elderly, people with disabilities and
people with debilitating ailments so as to improve their
participation through productive work. For ensuring women
participation, provision of creche facilities at worksites has been
made in case the number of children below the age of five years
accompanying the women working at any site is five or more.
Further, it has been provided that at least 50% of the worksite
supervisors (mates) should be women, preferably from among the
members of Self Help Groups (SHGs).
*****
Page 2 of 3Annexure
Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of LokSabhaUnstarred
Question No.323 dated 22.07.2025.
State/Union Territory (UT)-wise number of women workers who availed of
employment under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS during the last three financial
years. (Figure in lakh)
Sl.
States/UTs 2024-25 2023-24 2022-23
No.
1 Andhra Pradesh 42.0 41.9 41.9
2 Arunachal Pradesh 1.5 1.3 1.3
3 Assam 14.2 17.0 17.0
4 Bihar 30.9 29.0 31.0
5 Chhattisgarh 23.7 23.4 24.7
6 Goa 0.0 0.0 0.0
7 Gujarat 6.3 7.3 7.9
8 Haryana 2.9 3.1 2.5
9 Himachal Pradesh 6.1 5.7 5.3
10 Jammu and Kashmir 3.8 3.5 3.3
11 Jharkhand 11.4 12.3 12.0
12 Karnataka 26.9 27.7 27.0
13 Kerala 12.8 13.9 14.7
14 Ladakh 0.2 0.2 0.2
15 Madhya Pradesh 26.4 28.6 33.0
16 Maharashtra 22.9 18.1 16.5
17 Manipur 3.2 2.7 2.0
18 Meghalaya 3.4 3.7 3.5
19 Mizoram 1.1 1.1 1.1
20 Nagaland 1.1 2.1 2.1
21 Odisha 16.5 24.2 24.6
22 Punjab 6.6 6.7 6.6
23 Rajasthan 50.0 55.0 55.1
24 Sikkim 0.4 0.4 0.4
25 Tamil Nadu 62.0 65.6 62.6
26 Telangana 24.9 23.6 26.0
27 Tripura 4.1 4.2 4.1
28 Uttar Pradesh 31.8 33.4 32.3
29 Uttarakhand 3.3 3.7 3.9
30 West Bengal 0.0 0.0 9.8
31 Andaman and Nicobar 0.0 0.0 0.0
32 Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 0.1 0.0 0.0
33 Lakshadweep 0.0 0.0 0.0
34 Puducherry 0.4 0.5 0.4
Total 440.7 459.8 473.0
(As per NREGASoft)
*****
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