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MGNREGA: This is a Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme guaranteeing ≥100 days of unskilled manual labour to rural port. This acted as an effective shock absorber during pandemic by accommodating relieving migrant labour. Performance of MGNREGA: Sustainable employment, Crisis cushion (e.g. Pandemic). Alternative source of income to seasonal labour (e.g. farm labour). UN lauded initiative scheme as the largest rural employment scheme pulling many out of starvation. Recent Skill inclusion in MGNREGA act as an accelerator of poverty upliftment. Durable assets: Water embankments, waste shed development schemes (convergence e.g. Integrated Watershed Development). Rural landscape projects like terracing, Green Sadak, Ujjana acting as major contributor to MGNREGA. Public service building like community halls, etc. Ex: Sikkim Composite public infrastructure. Issues do exist in MGNREGA: Insufficient utilisation of funds. Inefficient social audit in many states except in some e.g. AP. Delay in payments to non-SC-ST. Majority workers below to lower strata amounting to deepening stratification.