Executive Summary:
The Ministry of Rural Development addressed concerns regarding potential loss of work and wages for MGNREGS workers due to the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) App. To ensure transparency and accountability in MGNREGS, the Ministry mandated the use of the NMMS app for capturing worker attendance with geotagged photographs, starting January 1, 2023, excluding Individual Beneficiary Work. The Ministry has implemented exception handling mechanisms to address network issues and other exceptional circumstances. The Ministry has not received reports of workers losing work or wages due to the NMMS app.
Key Points / Main Content:
NMMS App Implementation:
* Mandatory NMMS: Capturing attendance through the NMMS App with time-stamped, geotagged photographs twice daily for all MGNREGS worksites, excluding Individual Beneficiary Work, effective January 1, 2023.
Exception Handling Mechanisms:
* Offline Mode: Allows attendance capture in offline mode in areas with network issues, to be uploaded when connectivity is restored.
* Decentralized Exemption: District Program Coordinators can grant exemptions in exceptional circumstances, now decentralized to the Block level.
Grievance Redressal and Issue Resolution:
* Real-time Issue Resolution: States/UTs issues are addressed with the Ministry in real-time, with timely resolution efforts.
* Continuous Enhancements: Ongoing system improvements based on feedback from States and stakeholders, including eye blink and head count facilities, Mate-id mapping, and photograph verification.
Benefits of NMMS Application:
* Improved Attendance Management: Significantly improved the attendance management system and overall efficiency.
* Increased Credibility: Boosts credibility of attendance data and fosters trust in the overall process.
* Timely Wage Payment: Facilitates timely wage payments by enabling same-day generation of wage lists and FTOs.
Impact Analysis:
MGNREGS Workers:
* Impact: Concerns about potential loss of work/wages due to NMMS app malfunctions are addressed through exception handling mechanisms.
* Action Required: Utilize offline mode in areas with network issues, report exceptional circumstances to Block level authorities for potential exemption.
States/UTs:
* Impact: Responsible for ensuring NMMS app implementation and addressing worker concerns related to the app.
* Action Required: Implement NMMS app, provide support for workers facing difficulties, report issues to the Ministry in real-time, and provide feedback for system improvements.
Ministry of Rural Development:
* Impact: Responsible for overseeing NMMS implementation, addressing issues raised by States/UTs, and continuously improving the system.
* Action Required: Resolve issues reported by States/UTs in a timely manner, incorporate feedback for system enhancements, and monitor the overall effectiveness of the NMMS app.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Rural Development: A ministry in the Government of India responsible for rural development programs.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: An Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'.
National Mobile Monitoring System NMMS App: A mobile application used to capture worker attendance at Mahatma Gandhi NREGS worksites.
SHRI E T MOHAMMED BASHEER: Member of Parliament who raised a question in Lok Sabha regarding the NMMS app.
ADV DEAN KURIAKOSE: Member of Parliament who raised a question in Lok Sabha regarding the NMMS app.
SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN: Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development who provided the answer to the Lok Sabha question.
StatesUTs: Refers to all the States and Union Territories of India
District Program Coordinator: An official at the district level responsible for the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS program.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 372
ANSWERED ON 22/07/2025
LOSS DUE TO NMMS APP UNDER MGNREGS
372. SHRI E T MOHAMMED BASHEER:
ADV DEAN KURIAKOSE:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) workers are facing loss of work and wages due to
technical malfunctions and operational issues related to the
National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) App;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the
Government to address suchmalfunctions;
(c) whether the Government has put in place any grievance
redressal mechanism for workers who are unable to mark
attendance due to network connectivity issues or non-
functioning of the App; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a)to (d): 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
Page 1 of 2located 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
circumstances 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.
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 boosts the credibility of attendance
data and fosters trust in the overall 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.
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