MGNREGA employment declines in Andhra

EMPLOYMENT generation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has witnessed a sharp decline in Andhra Pradesh during the first half of the 2025-26 financial year, according to the latest MGNREGA Tracker released by LibTech India.

- USHA PERI

The report, based on official MGNREGA MIS data (nrega.nic.in) for April-September 2025, highlights a sharp drop in both employment and household participation, coupled with growing digital exclusion due to the mandatory Aadhaar-based eKYC requirement.

The report shows that persondays generated in Andhra Pradesh fell by 13.6%, a steep decline than the national average of 10.4%. The number of participating households also decreased from 42.79 lakh to 40.74 lakh, marking a 4.8% drop compared to the previous year.

Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe workers were disproportionately affected with persondays declining by 18.7% and 17% respectively, compared to an 11.3% fall among other categories. This reduction in work opportunities has directly impacted household incomes.