Making urban MNREGA workable: A question of getting the structure right

The urban population is more educated and generally has a different set of job preferences than the rural

An  urban job scheme along the lines of MNREGA is being debated again after a report commissioned by the Prime Minister's advisors recommended it.

The report, ‘The State of Inequality in India’, commissioned by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) and prepared by the Institute for Competitiveness, recommended it on the basis of its assessment that a gap between the labour force participation rate (LFPF) in rural and urban areas is widening.

LFPR is the percentage of persons in the labour force (working or seeking jobs) in the population.

The LFPR was slightly lower in urban areas