With 41% of job card holders under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme still unprepared for Aadhaar-based wage payments, the Union government has extended its deadline to mandate such payments till the end of the year. This is the fifth extension of the deadline so far.
Having reviewed the progress of the Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS), the Rural Development Ministry on August 30 said that Aadhaar has been seeded and authenticated for 13.34 crore out of a total 14.33 crore active workers, leaving just over one crore, or 18.11% out of the net. This means that 81.89% of active workers — those who have worked at least one day in the last three financial years — are now eligible for ABPS. In fact, in July 2023, about 88.51% of wage payments were made through the ABPS.
The extension, though, was necessitated since out of the 26 crore job card holders under the scheme, 41.1% are still not eligible for this mode, as reported by The Hindu.
