Reiterating its stand on tweaking the UPA Government’s ambitious rural job guarantee scheme, the Rural Development Ministry has suggested using the scheme effectively for skill development. Once implemented, this will also help the Prime Minister’s vision of converting ‘Scam India’ to ‘Skill India’, says a note prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development.
“Youths and women seeking work could be offered free of charge skill training of a vocation, in which manpower is inadequate in a village,” says the note, which has been prepared in the wake of criticism by leading economists fearing ‘dilution’ in the scheme.
In a recent letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the economists urged him not to amend the provisions of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as it provided economic security to millions of poor.
The Ministry’s note said if a village had no masons or electricians, MGNREGA funds could be utilised for training through an understanding between the Gram Panchayat and job-seeking youth or women, making it mandatory for him/her to stay in the village and provide professional services.
The rural job scheme, a flagship scheme of the UPA Government, guarantees 100 days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household which volunteers to do unskilled manual work.