The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is an Indian job guarantee scheme, enacted by legislation on August 25, 2005. The NREGA provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage. The Central government outlay for schemes under this act is Rs. 39,100 crores in FY 2009-10.
This act was introduced with an aim of improving the purchasing power of the rural people, primarily semi or un-skilled work to people living in rural India, whether or not they are below the poverty line. Roughly one-third of the stipulated work force must be women.