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 (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.