Union Budget 2025: MGNREGA wages must be increased to ₹400 per day, says Jairam Ramesh

Congress demands increased MGNREGA wages, opposes mandatory ABPS, and calls for more workdays in Union Budget.

Accusing the Modi government of perpetuating a policy of indifference to the plight of MGNREGA workers, the Congress on Monday (January 27, 2025) demanded that the Union Budget must increase MGNREGA wages and the Aadhar-Based Payment Bridge Systems not be made mandatory.

The Opposition party demanded that MGNREGA wages be increased with the goal of hitting ₹400 per day as a national minimum wage. In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said MGNREGA wages cannot be set by the arbitrary whims of the government.

He said a Standing Committee must be established to evaluate the need for changes in the wage rate. “The Aadhar-Based Payment Bridge Systems (ABPS) must not be made mandatory,” Mr. Ramesh said.

He also put forward the demand that the number of workdays under MGNREGA must be increased from 100 to 150 days. "One of the earliest indications of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's uncaring attitude and shortsightedness was his mockery of MGNREGA on the floor of Parliament in 2015," Mr. Ramesh said.

In the years since, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, MGNREGA has conclusively demonstrated its utility as one of the few social security interventions that the government can execute, he said.

“From a pre-pandemic total of 6.16 crore households requesting work under the scheme in 2019-20, the numbers jumped by 33% to 8.55 crore in 2020-2021,” he said. “For these crores of families, MGNREGA was the only lifeline amidst the chaos of the government’s unplanned lockdowns,” Mr. Ramesh said.

"Amidst an ongoing economic slowdown, there continue to be 9.31 crore active workers that are employed under the programme as of January 2025. Close to 75% of these workers are women. Despite this reality, the government continues to perpetuate a policy of indifference to their plight," he alleged.