NCAER - PIF study on evaluating performance of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

More than two-and-a-half years have passed since the introduction of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in February 2006. As an Act of Parliament, this law confers statutory powers to offer up to 100 days of employment per year for adult members of a rural household at the mandated minimum wage rate. The NCAER undertook a study "Evaluating Performance of NREGA" to examine how well the Act is being implemented in various parts of the country, what are the main difficulties, and what should be done to make the Act more effective. The study was funded by the Public Interest Foundation.
The study provides a detailed analysis of the official view on implementation, discusses the implementation experience gathered from field reports, studies carried out by research institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), social audit teams, and other independent researchers, and; what is working and what is not working at the ground level.

The framework of analysis used in the study is to assess progress over time, discern a fewcarly outcomes, critically cross-check and validate these outcomes by contrasting official data and field level data both-macro as well as micro-and suggest a way forward. This is different from other studies on the subject wherein the main focus has been on adherence or deviations from the official guidelines.