MGNREGA — Rural Employment Data¶
India's largest public employment programme — gram panchayat level data on jobs, wages, and works created.
What MGNREGA Data Tracks¶
MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households. The MIS (Management Information System) tracks every aspect of implementation:
| Indicator | Description |
|---|---|
| HH Registered | Households registered for MGNREGA job cards |
| HH Demanded Work | Households that asked for employment |
| HH Provided Work | Households that received employment |
| Person-days Generated | Total days of employment created |
| Women Workers | % person-days to women |
| SC/ST Workers | % person-days to SC/ST workers |
| Wages Paid (₹ crore) | Total wages disbursed |
| Works Completed | Roads, ponds, plantations, buildings created |
| Works in Progress | Ongoing assets |
How to Access MGNREGA Data¶
Method 1: nregs.nic.in Portal 🟢¶
- Go to nregs.nic.in
- Click "Reports" → "R1. Job Card/Registration" (or other report types)
- Select: State → District → Block → Year
- Click "GO" → View table online or click "Download Excel"
Available report types: - R1: Job card registration and households - R2: Demand and employment - R3: Works executed - R4: Financial progress - R14: Gram Panchayat-wise summary
Method 2: data.gov.in CSV Downloads 🟢¶
- Go to data.gov.in
- Search: "MGNREGA state wise" or "NREGS district employment"
- Download pre-compiled annual CSVs
Key CSV Columns¶
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
State |
State name |
District |
District name |
Block |
Block / Mandal |
Gram_Panchayat |
GP name |
HH_Registered |
Job card holders |
HH_Provided_Emp |
HH who got work |
PersonDays_Total |
Total person-days (000) |
PersonDays_Women |
Woman person-days |
PersonDays_SC |
SC person-days |
PersonDays_ST |
ST person-days |
Amount_Paid_Lakh |
Wages paid (₹ lakh) |
Works_Taken |
Number of works started |
Python: Find Top Districts by MGNREGA Wages¶
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# Download from data.gov.in or nregs.nic.in
mgnrega = pd.read_csv("mgnrega_2022_23.csv")
# State-level analysis
state_stats = mgnrega.groupby('State').agg({
'HH_Provided_Emp': 'sum',
'PersonDays_Total': 'sum',
'PersonDays_Women': 'sum',
'Amount_Paid_Lakh': 'sum'
}).reset_index()
state_stats['Women_Pct'] = (state_stats['PersonDays_Women'] /
state_stats['PersonDays_Total']) * 100
state_stats = state_stats.sort_values('Amount_Paid_Lakh', ascending=False)
print("Top 10 States by MGNREGA Expenditure 2022-23:")
print(state_stats[['State', 'HH_Provided_Emp', 'Amount_Paid_Lakh', 'Women_Pct']].head(10).to_string())
# Women participation chart
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(10, 8))
top15 = state_stats.head(15)
bars = ax.barh(top15['State'], top15['Women_Pct'],
color=['forestgreen' if w > 50 else 'steelblue' for w in top15['Women_Pct']])
ax.axvline(x=50, color='red', linestyle='--', label='50% benchmark')
ax.set_xlabel("% Person-days to Women")
ax.set_title("MGNREGA Women Participation — Top 15 States by Expenditure (2022-23)")
ax.legend()
plt.tight_layout()
plt.savefig("mgnrega_women_participation.png", dpi=150)
plt.show()
✏️ Practice Exercise¶
Exercise 4.1 — MGNREGA in Your Block
Goal: Find which Gram Panchayats in your block have the highest MGNREGA employment.
- Go to nregs.nic.in → Reports → R14
- Select: Your State → District → Block → Latest year
- Download Excel → Open and sort by "Person Days Generated" (descending)
Answer: - [ ] Which GP has the most MGNREGA employment in your block? - [ ] What % of employed households are women? - [ ] What types of works were created? (Roads? Ponds? Plantations?) - [ ] Are wages being paid on time? (Look at "Days for Wage Payment" column)
Cross-analysis: Compare with SECC — do GPs with more deprived households also show higher MGNREGA demand?
Next Dataset: UDISE+ Schools Data →