After falling consistently since April on a year-on-year basis, demand for work under the flagship MGNREGA scheme rose almost 4 per cent in November 2024 as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The work demand might have risen as workers returned to the sites after completion of sowing activities in the farms, some experts said. Data showed that sequentially, too, work demand in November 2024 was highest since July 2024 in this financial year at 18.36 million households. Compared to the pre-COVID years, the work demand continues to remain high on a year-on-year basis. So far, around Rs 75,000 crore for the scheme has been released while the Fy-25 Budget Estimates is around Rs 86,000 crore.

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