12 million families may be out of poverty, thanks to reskilling initiative

Every year one member from almost 400,000-500,000 MGNREGS families will be skilled over the next 5 years

The central government, though it is not planning to end the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) soon, is working on an initiative to move 10-12.5 million families within the ambit of the MGNREGA out of poverty by imparting skills and creating durable assets.

This will be done in five-six years and lessen the burden on the scheme.

Under the MGNREGA, 50-55 million families seek jobs for 100 days a year. However, the average number of workdays is fewer than this.

Officials said some changes in the relevant legislation might be considered to ensure that a portion of the labour budget