Deadline for Aadhaar-based pay extended to Dec 31

WITH 42 per cent workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme still not eligible for Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS), the Union government on Wednesday extended the deadline for enabling payment of wages through the system to December 31. Earlier, the deadline was September 1 and this is the fifth extension by the Centre.

- PREETHA NAIR

“The progress of Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS) has been reviewed and the mixed route of wage payment (NACH and ABPS routes) has been extended till December 31, 2023 or till further order,” said the rural developmen t ministry.

This paper has reported that if the Aadhaar-based payment for workers under the rural job schemes becomes mandatory from September 1, only 57.75 per cent of workers will be eligible to receive payments under the system. According to data analysed by non-profit LibTech India, the national average of ABPS-eligible workers stood at a mere 57.75% per cent out of the total of 26.84 crore workers as on August 21.