Facing the job problem

Rajasthan's urban job programme might be difficult to implement

The government of Rajasthan has decided to initiate an urban job guarantee scheme in the state along the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The Congress-ruled state intends to call it the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme and will, like the MGNREGA, offer 100 days of demand-based employment. The state has set aside Rs 800 crore for the programme. Many details of the scheme are still awaited, but this can be seen as the first large-scale institutional response to the problems of urban unemployment revealed during the national lockdown in 2020 in response to