Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses a post-budget press conference, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday drew flak from the Opposition Congress for not raising the allocation for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the Union Budget 2025-26.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earmarked Rs 86,000 crore for implementing the MGNREGS in 2024-25, without raising the allocation from the 2024-25 Budget Estimate or Revised Estimate levels, although the Economic Survey released on Friday noted that what had originally been launched as a wage employment scheme, had now evolved into a durable rural asset creation programme for sustainable livelihood diversification.
The government proposed to spend Rs 2.66 lakh crore for rural development for the financial year 2025-26, keeping the allocation same as that of 2024-25.
The Finance Minister had earmarked Rs 86,000 crore for the implementation of the MGNREGS in 2024-25, raising it by Rs 26,000 crore from the allocation of Rs 60,000 crore in the previous financial year. The Revised Estimate for the scheme in 2023-24 had gone up to Rs 86,000 crore and remained same in 2024-25 too.
The Finance Minister proposed to keep the allocation for the scheme for the coming financial year at the same level as the revised estimate of the current year.
The Congress slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for not raising the allocation for the MGNREGS despite rising rural distress. The party pointed out that while the demand for work under the scheme remained high, funding by the Union Government stagnated.
“Another year, another budget - another snub to MGNREGA! Despite rising rural distress, the Modi government has allocated Rs 86,000 crore for 2025-26 – the exact same as last year’s revised estimate. No increase, no adjustment for inflation, just copy-paste economics!” the chairman of the media and publicity department of the Congress, Pawan Khera, posted on X after the finance minister presented the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha.
The MGNREGS – mandated by the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act – is a demand-driven programme designed to guarantee at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household having adults ready to do unskilled manual work. The scheme was launched on February 2, 2006, and was often highlighted by the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government as a programme that legally guaranteed minimum livelihood security to the rural population, contributed to bringing up rural wages, lessened distress migration, and empowered weaker sections.
The scheme had provided a safety net for the rural population during the pandemic, compensating for up to 80 per cent of income loss caused by shutdowns imposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. The actual expenditure for the scheme in 2020-21 and 2021-22 had stood at Rs 1.11 lakh crore and Rs 98,467.85 crore respectively.
The BJP-led government had been criticised when it had slashed allocation for the scheme for 2023-24 to Rs 60,000 crore.
The allocation specifically for the Ministry of Rural Development, however, went up from Rs 180,233.43 crore in 2024-25 to 190,405.53 crore in 2025-26.
The finance minister earmarked Rs 16,600 crore for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for 2025-26, keeping it almost at the same level as 2024-25, although the revised estimate for the current financial year was cut to Rs 12100 crore. The Budget estimate for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was slightly raised from Rs 54,500 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 54,831.99 crore in 2025-26, although the revised estimate for the ongoing financial year was cut to Rs 32426.32 crore.
Union Budget 2025 | Nirmala Sitharaman, as Finance Minister, presented her record 8th Union Budget this time. While inflation has burnt a hole in the pockets of 'aam janata', the Modi govt gave income tax relief for those making up to Rs 12 lakh per year in salaried income. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analysis only on Deccan Herald. Also follow us on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.