People can fall back on NREGA in these hard times: World Bank

The World Bank today praised the UPA government's National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme saying people can fall back on the scheme "in these hard times."

"India is fortunate to have in place a (NREGA) program that people can fall back on to find work in these hard times", World Bank's Country Director Roberto Zagha said at a function to launch a book 'Social Safety Nets : Learning from Global Experience.'

Describing the NREGA scheme as an innovative programme, he said, "(it) is an important cushion for poor people living in rural areas who might be at risk of being pushed further into poverty."

Noting that nowhere the potential impact of safety nets is larger than in India, he said, the country "spends more of its income on safety – more than 2 per cent of GDP – than most developing countries."

India launched the NREGA in 2006, initially in 200 districts and gradually extended it to cover the entire nation. The government, according to reports, is also planning to introduce a similar scheme for alleviation of poverty in urban areas.