NREGS benefited 4.5 cr households

About 4.5 crore (45 million) households across the country benefited from the pioneering National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the financial year 2008-09, an increase of 32 per cent over the previous year, says the Economic survey.

The NREGS, the flagship programme of the previous United Progressive Alliance [ Images ] (UPA), aimed at generating jobs in the rural areas, provided employment to over 4.47 crore (447 million) households in the previous fiscal.

"This is a significant jump over the 3.39 crore (33.9 million) households covered under the scheme during 2007-08," the Survey noted.

The pioneering programme saw its budget outlay increase to Rs 30,100 crore (rs 301 billion) in the interim budget for 2009-10. In the last fiscal, the same stood at Rs 16,000 crore (Rs 160 billion).

"Out of the 215.63 crore person-days created under the scheme during this period (2008-09). 29 per cent and 25 per cent were in favour of SC and ST population, respectively, and 48 peer cent of the total person-days created went in favour of women," the Survey said.