In which year was the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act enacted by the Central Government of India to implement the Right to Work?

The correct answer is 2005.

Key Points

•  The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA):
  • The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted by the Central Government of India in the year 2005.
  • Established by the Ministry of Rural Development. 
  • MGNREGA is one of the biggest labor guarantee programs globally.
  • The main goal of the program is to provide adult members of rural households who are willing to perform unskilled manual labor related to public work with 100 days of employment guaranteed per fiscal year.
  • The legally-backed guarantee that any adult living in a rural area would find job within 15 days of requesting it, or else a "unemployment allowance" must be provided, is the most significant aspect of the MGNREGA framework.
  • By giving women equal pay for equal labour, MGNREGA has been successful in lowering poverty, raising the standard of living in rural households, and empowering them.

Additional Information

• Right to Work:
  • It is not specifically acknowledged as a fundamental right in the Indian Constitution.
  • It is unenforceable in a court of law because it is included in Part IV of the Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) under Article 41.
  • According to Article 41 of the Constitution, “the State shall within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want.”