Indian J Econ Dev

Volume 11 No. 4 (2015): 967-974

DOI: 10.5958/2322-0430.2015.00108.0
Research Note

IS MNREGA AFFECTING AVAILABILITY, WAGES AND COST

OF LABOUR IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE? DISCERNING
QUANTITATIVE EVIDENCES
Pushpa, Punit Kumar Agarwal, Bulbul G. Nagrale and B.S. Chandel
ABSTRACT
Contemporary economic and social change in the agricultural sector in India has ensured that
labour shortages are an increasing reality for many primary producers. Present study is based on
secondary data collected from various Government publications. The results show that after the
implementation of the programme MNREGA, the labour wages all over the India has increased
tremendously, especially after 2010. Due to increase in the wages by MNREGA the labour cost for
agricultural operations has increased, which has further increased the total cost of production for
almost all the crops in India, especially sugarcane, paddy and cotton, which are the labour intensive
crops. Due to availability of employment in near the range of 5 km. now labours migration from the
states like Bihar, UP, Jharkhand and Odisha has decreased, which has created a situation of labour
scarcity for agriculture operations.
Key words: Agricultural, real, and nominal wages, labour scarcity, MNREGA.
JEL Classification: J2, J3, J4, J6, J7.