Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the "Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act"? 

The correct answer is Adult members of any household.

Key Points

• Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act that was passed in September 2005:
  • It is a social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'.
  •  The MGNREGA provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage.
  • The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Govt of India is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments.
  • The following are the eligibility criteria for receiving the benefits under the MGNREGA scheme:
    • Must be a Citizen of India.
    • Any citizen above 18 years of age at the time of application.
    • The applicant must be part of a rural household.
    • Applicants must volunteer for unskilled labor work.
  • Households are eligible for unemployment allowances if employment has not been provided after 15 days of applying.

Additional Information

• MGNREGA guarantees a hundred days of wage employment in a financial year, to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• Individual beneficiary-oriented works can be taken up on the cards of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, small or marginal farmers or beneficiaries of land reforms or beneficiaries under the Indira Awaas Yojana of the Government of India.
• Right to get unemployment allowance in case employment is not provided within fifteen days of submitting the application or from the date when work is sought.
• Variety of permissible works which can be taken up by the Gram Panchayaths.
• MGNREGA focuses on the economic and social empowerment of women.
• Social Audit of MGNREGA works is mandatory, which lends to accountability and transparency.
• MGNREGA works to address climate change vulnerability and protect the farmers from such risks and conserve natural resources.
• The Gram Sabha is the principal forum for wage seekers to raise their voices and make demands. It is the Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat which approve the shelf of works under MGNREGA and fix their priority.