NREGA

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or NREGA is an Indian job guarantee scheme, enacted by legislation on August 25, 2005. The scheme 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 of Rs.100 per day. The Central government outlay for scheme is Rs. 39,100 crores ($8 billion) in Financial year  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. Around one-third of the stipulated work force is women. The government is planning to open a call centre. Once operational, the call centre can be approached on the toll-free number, 1800-345-22-44. It has been renamed as Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act on 2nd October, 2009