Editor's Pick: Women workers in MNREGA touch 10-year high

As per the latest statistics from the Union Rural Development Ministry, the proportion of women workers participating in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) has touched a 10-year high in the financial year 2022-23. 57.8% workers who used the scheme this year were women – marking their highest level of participation since 2012-13. Of the 15 states reviewed by The Hindu, including Kerala, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, 14 have reported an upward trend in women’s participation. The maximum spike was observed in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh which showed the most improvement in this regard. The proportion of women workers in Bihar grew 3.7 percentage points whilst U.P. registered an upward spike of 3.3 percentage points. In Bihar, as on December 30, women accounted for 56.88% of the total person days under the scheme, which is a significant increase from 51.75% in 2018-19. In Uttar Pradesh, notwithstanding the spike this year, it is still skimming just above the mandatory women’s participation level of 33% under the MNREGA. 37.6% person days were used by women in comparison to 34.28% last year. Kerala observed a drop in women’s participation under the scheme. However, for the past five years, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, women’s representation in the scheme’s workforce has been hovering between 85% and 90%. Of the 15 states reviewed, women made up less than 50% of the workforce under the scheme in only seven states: Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. Click here. The Hindu Explains Explained | What is the crypto awareness campaign? Explained | Will migrants be able to vote remotely? Explained | How will the free foodgrain scheme work out? The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz How many years did Aung San Suu Kyi lead Myanmar before the military wrested back control last year? 5 10 17 12 To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 01 JANUARY 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Women workers in MNREGA touch 10-year high As per the latest statistics from the Union Rural Development Ministry, the proportion of women workers participating in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) [has touched a 10-year high]( in the financial year 2022-23. 57.8% workers who used the scheme this year were women – marking their highest level of participation since 2012-13. Of the 15 states reviewed by The Hindu, including Kerala, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, 14 have reported an upward trend in women’s participation. The maximum spike was observed in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh which showed the most improvement in this regard. The proportion of women workers in Bihar grew 3.7 percentage points whilst U.P. registered an upward spike of 3.3 percentage points. In Bihar, as on December 30, women accounted for 56.88% of the total person days under the scheme, which is a significant increase from 51.75% in 2018-19. In Uttar Pradesh, notwithstanding the spike this year, it is still skimming just above the mandatory women’s participation level of 33% under the MNREGA. 37.6% person days were used by women in comparison to 34.28% last year. Kerala observed a drop in women’s participation under the scheme. However, for the past five years, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, women’s representation in the scheme’s workforce has been hovering between 85% and 90%. Of the 15 states reviewed, women made up less than 50% of the workforce under the scheme in only seven states: Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. [Click here.]( The Hindu Explains [Arrow][Explained | What is the crypto awareness campaign?]( [Arrow][Explained | Will migrants be able to vote remotely?]( [Arrow][Explained | How will the free foodgrain scheme work out?]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz How many years did Aung San Suu Kyi lead Myanmar before the military wrested back control last year? - 5 - 10 - 17 - 12 To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click [here](. Interested in daily updates from Tamil Nadu? 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