UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — RURAL EMPOYMENT SCHEME MGNREGS REACHED ITS LIMITS AND WARRANTED REASSESSMENT IN LIGHT OF EVOLVING RURAL REALITIES: ECONOMIC SURVEY
Q1. Under MGNREGA, 2005, over and above the standard guarantee, how many additional days of wage employment is a Scheduled Tribe household in a forest area entitled to?
- A. 30 days
- B. 50 days
- C. 75 days
- D. 100 days
Q2. With reference to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, consider the following statements:
1. It guarantees at least 100 days of unskilled manual wage employment in a financial year per rural household.
2. Every adult member of a registered household whose name appears on the job card is entitled to apply for work.
3. Scheduled Tribe households in forest areas may receive up to 50 additional days of wage employment.
4. The Ministry of Labour and Employment is the nodal ministry for its implementation.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- It guarantees at least 100 days of unskilled manual wage employment in a financial year per rural household.
- Every adult member of a registered household whose name appears on the job card is entitled to apply for work.
- Scheduled Tribe households in forest areas may receive up to 50 additional days of wage employment.
- The Ministry of Labour and Employment is the nodal ministry for its implementation.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q3. As per the Government's assessment of the predecessor scheme Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY), during 2002-03 and 2003-04 it could provide, on an average, how many days of employment per Below Poverty Line rural household?
- A. 20 days
- B. 45 days
- C. 60 days
- D. 100 days
Q4. The predecessor scheme 'NFFWP', which was merged with MGNREGS in 2006, stands for which one of the following?
- A. National Food for Work Programme
- B. National Fund for Wage Payment
- C. National Framework for Workforce Provisioning
- D. National Foundation for Welfare Projects
Q5. The VB–G RAM G Act, 2025 has been described as providing the largest-ever Central allocation for a rural employment programme. For the financial year 2026-27, this Central share provision is closest to:
- A. Rs 60,000 crore
- B. Rs 95,692 crore
- C. Rs 1.51 lakh crore
- D. Rs 2.10 lakh crore
Q6. According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, person-days of work generated under MGNREGS attained their peak in which of the following years?
- A. 2018-19
- B. 2020-21
- C. 2023-24
- D. 2025-26
Q7. With reference to women's participation in MGNREGS, consider the following statements:
1. It rose from 48% in FY 2013-14 to 58.1% in FY 2024-25.
2. About 440.7 lakh women participated in the scheme during FY 2024-25.
3. The FY 2024-25 women's share of 58.1% is below the one-third statutory minimum mandated under MGNREGA.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- It rose from 48% in FY 2013-14 to 58.1% in FY 2024-25.
- About 440.7 lakh women participated in the scheme during FY 2024-25.
- The FY 2024-25 women's share of 58.1% is below the one-third statutory minimum mandated under MGNREGA.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q8. The statutory requirement that at least one-third of the beneficiaries be women is a provision under which one of the following?
- A. MGNREGA, 2005
- B. VB–G RAM G Act, 2025
- C. National Food Security Act, 2013
- D. The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
Q9. Under MGNREGA, which single institution is primarily responsible for the identification and planning of works and for preparing the shelf of projects along with their order of priority?
- A. The Gram Panchayat
- B. The District Collector
- C. The State Employment Guarantee Council
- D. The Ministry of Rural Development
Q10. Regarding the rationale for reassessing MGNREGS as set out in the Economic Survey 2025-26, consider the following statements:
1. Person-days under MGNREGS fell from a pandemic peak of about 3,890 million in 2020-21 to about 1,837.7 million in 2025-26 (up to December 2025).
2. Rural unemployment declined from 3.3% in 2020-21 to 2.5% in 2023-24.
3. The Survey attributes the falling demand to rising rural incomes, better connectivity and diversified livelihoods.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Person-days under MGNREGS fell from a pandemic peak of about 3,890 million in 2020-21 to about 1,837.7 million in 2025-26 (up to December 2025).
- Rural unemployment declined from 3.3% in 2020-21 to 2.5% in 2023-24.
- The Survey attributes the falling demand to rising rural incomes, better connectivity and diversified livelihoods.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3