The Centre has decided to have a mixed model for wage payment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) by extending the deadline to switching to the Aadhaar-based payment system till August 31, 2023 . This decision, announced by the agriculture ministry on social media platforms, has been taken after states made a request in this regard. This is the fourth time this deadline had been extended.
The payment of wages to every beneficiary under the NREGA is being done using Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS) as well as National Automated Clearing House (NACH), depending upon the ABPS status of the beneficiary.
See also: How to view and download NREGA job card?
New NREGA wage payment methods
There are two routes to be used in payment of wages:
ABPS: If the beneficiary is linked with the ABPS, the payment can be made through ABPS only.
NACH: If the beneficiary is not linked with the ABPS due to some technical reasons, the programme officer can select NACH as the mode of payment of wages.
While stating that the number of active workers under the NREGA to be 14.96 crore, the government said it was committed to ensuring timely wage payment of each worker.
In an official statement issued on March 19, 2023, the ministry of rural development said that out of 14.96 crore workers, Aadhaar seeding of 14.27 crore workers (95.4%) has been done in NREGASoft, in which a total of 10.05 crore workers have been registered under the ABPS. There were a total of 4.60 crore transactions in the month of February 2023 for wage payment, out of which 3.57 crore transactions (77.6%) were made through ABPS.
“The ABPS, as one of the routes for wage payment under NREGS, was introduced for timely payment of wages. The system ensures that there will be no delay in payments due to bank account related problems. The system also ensures transparency towards the payment of the workers. Aadhaar seeding and ABPS are in place under the scheme since 2017,” the ministry said.
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An alumna of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal, Sunita Mishra brings over 16 years of expertise to the fields of legal matters, financial insights, and property market trends. Recognised for her ability to elucidate complex topics, her articles serve as a go-to resource for home buyers navigating intricate subjects. Through her extensive career, she has been associated with esteemed organisations like the Financial Express, Hindustan Times, Network18, All India Radio, and Business Standard.
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