<p>India's rural development ministry has formed a panel to revamp its only job guarantee scheme in the hope of directing more work to the country's poorer regions, a senior government official said on Friday.</p>.<p>The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, or MNREGA, was in high demand in rural areas as they emerged from the pandemic amid soaring inflation and limited non-farm job opportunities.</p>.<p>Residents of relatively affluent states, however, may have fared better in securing work under the key anti-poverty job program, triggering calls for changes to the scheme, the official, who did not wish to be named, told reporters in New Delhi.</p>.<p>"The panel will recommend institutional mechanisms, including governance and administrative structures, for more effective utilization of funds, especially to address poverty," the official said.</p>.<p>The spending of states such as Bihar and Odisha, for instance, under the jobs scheme lags those of states such as Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, which have a higher per-capita income, government data shows.</p>.<p>The panel, which is expected to submit its report by January, will examine expenditure trends across various states and identify reasons for variations, the official added.</p>.<p>The rural development ministry, which manages the program, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>.<p>The government's expenditure on job guarantees is among the largest social sector spends it budgets for. New Delhi has earmarked Rs 73,000 crore ($8.94 billion) towards the jobs scheme for fiscal 2022-23, less than the record allocation of Rs 1.1 lakh crore in 2020-2021.</p>.<p>However, the allocation could be increased in the final quarter of this fiscal. Reuters reported the government may raise rural spending to Rs 2 lakh croe next fiscal year.</p>.<p>The MNREGA jobs programme, introduced more than 15 years ago, allows citizens to enrol for work such as building roads, digging wells or creating other rural infrastructure, and receive a minimum wage for 100 days each year.</p>.<p>The panel now aims to redesign work opportunities available under this scheme, the official added.</p>.<p>The revaluation of the scheme comes as rural unemployment in India has remained above 7 per cent for most of the current fiscal year, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a private think-tank.</p>.<p><em>($1 = 81.668)</em></p>
<p>India's rural development ministry has formed a panel to revamp its only job guarantee scheme in the hope of directing more work to the country's poorer regions, a senior government official said on Friday.</p>.<p>The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, or MNREGA, was in high demand in rural areas as they emerged from the pandemic amid soaring inflation and limited non-farm job opportunities.</p>.<p>Residents of relatively affluent states, however, may have fared better in securing work under the key anti-poverty job program, triggering calls for changes to the scheme, the official, who did not wish to be named, told reporters in New Delhi.</p>.<p>"The panel will recommend institutional mechanisms, including governance and administrative structures, for more effective utilization of funds, especially to address poverty," the official said.</p>.<p>The spending of states such as Bihar and Odisha, for instance, under the jobs scheme lags those of states such as Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, which have a higher per-capita income, government data shows.</p>.<p>The panel, which is expected to submit its report by January, will examine expenditure trends across various states and identify reasons for variations, the official added.</p>.<p>The rural development ministry, which manages the program, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>.<p>The government's expenditure on job guarantees is among the largest social sector spends it budgets for. New Delhi has earmarked Rs 73,000 crore ($8.94 billion) towards the jobs scheme for fiscal 2022-23, less than the record allocation of Rs 1.1 lakh crore in 2020-2021.</p>.<p>However, the allocation could be increased in the final quarter of this fiscal. Reuters reported the government may raise rural spending to Rs 2 lakh croe next fiscal year.</p>.<p>The MNREGA jobs programme, introduced more than 15 years ago, allows citizens to enrol for work such as building roads, digging wells or creating other rural infrastructure, and receive a minimum wage for 100 days each year.</p>.<p>The panel now aims to redesign work opportunities available under this scheme, the official added.</p>.<p>The revaluation of the scheme comes as rural unemployment in India has remained above 7 per cent for most of the current fiscal year, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a private think-tank.</p>.<p><em>($1 = 81.668)</em></p>