Questions

MGNREGA FAQ: job cards, wages, 125 days and payments

मनरेगा प्रश्न: जॉब कार्ड, मज़दूरी, 125 दिन और भुगतान

Last reviewed: 11 November 2026

These are the questions people most often bring to a search box or a panchayat counter about the rural employment guarantee. The short answers below follow official frequently asked questions, Gazette notifications and parliamentary replies in the Gazette, official frequently asked questions and parliamentary replies. For the full explanation, follow the links. These answers do not take applications and do not check a job-card or payment status.

The law and the name

What is MGNREGA?

MGNREGA — also written MNREGA, NREGA or मनरेगा — is the popular name for India’s rural employment guarantee: a rural household’s legal right to demand unskilled wage work at a notified daily rate. The 2005 Act that first carried that name stands repealed from 1 July 2026. The guarantee continues under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025. Read what the law is now.

Has MGNREGA been cancelled?

The 2005 Act was repealed from 1 July 2026, by a Gazette notification dated 11 May 2026. The employment guarantee was not withdrawn. Official material describes a seamless shift, with ongoing works allowed to continue under the new Act.

What is VB-G RAM G?

It is the short name of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, the law in force from 1 July 2026.

Is the guarantee 100 days or 125 days?

125 days of wage employment in a financial year, for every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work.

Job cards

How do I apply for an MGNREGA job card?

If your household has no card, any adult member applies at the Gram Panchayat with the names, ages and address of the household, for a Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card. This website does not take that application. See the job card page.

Is my old job card still valid?

If e-KYC for the workers on it has been completed, official FAQs say the existing MGNREGA job card remains valid until a Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card is issued.

Can I be refused work because e-KYC is pending?

Official transition notes say employment should not be denied merely because e-KYC is pending, and that facilitation should be arranged, including at worksites.

How do I check job-card status or download the card?

Use the official reports starting at nrega.nic.in, or ask at the Gram Panchayat. Do not type a job-card number or Aadhaar into an unofficial site. See official portals.

Wages

What is the MGNREGA wage rate for 2026-27?

The official rates are in Gazette S.O. 3518(E) dated 30 June 2026, effective 1 July 2026. There is no single national daily wage. No notified rate is below ₹300. The full table and a days calculator are on the wage rates page.

What is the wage in Uttar Pradesh / Bihar / Rajasthan / West Bengal?

₹300 a day from 1 July 2026. Several other States are also at that floor. Check the table if your State is not one of those four.

What is the wage in Haryana?

₹409 a day from 1 July 2026.

Why is a website still showing a lower figure?

It may still be publishing the 2025-26 MGNREGA Schedule. Look for the 30 June 2026 Gazette date.

Does the calculator need my card number?

No.

Demanding work

How do I demand work?

Orally, in writing on Form 6, or through official digital platforms, at the Gram Panchayat, the Programme Officer, or any authorised person. Details are on the 125 days page.

How soon must work be given?

Within 15 days of the application.

What if work is not given in 15 days?

Unemployment allowance is payable by the State Government, at not less than one-fourth of the notified wage for the first 30 days of the financial year and not less than one-half after that.

What if the worksite is far from my village?

Work should, as far as possible, be within 5 kilometres. If it is farther, but still in the Block, an extra 10% of the wage rate is payable.

Can work be paused in the farming season?

Yes. States notify a peak agricultural-season pause, which the Act provides should add up to 60 days in a financial year. Ask the panchayat for the local dates.

Payments

When are wages paid?

Weekly, or in any case not later than a fortnight after the muster roll is closed. They are paid by direct benefit transfer to the worker’s bank or post office account. See payments.

What if a wage is late?

If it is not paid within 15 days of the muster closing, delay compensation is due at 0.05% of the unpaid wages for each day of delay.

How do I check FTO or payment status?

On official payment reports, on the official PFMS FTO page, or in official apps such as Janmanrega — not on this website.

Official websites

What is the official website?

Start at nrega.nic.in, which officially redirects to nrega.dord.gov.in. Ministry sites: rural.gov.in and dord.gov.in.

Is mnrega.in.net a government website?

No. It is an information site. It does not issue cards, allot work or pay wages. See About and the disclaimer.

How do I recognise a fake portal?

It will usually not be on a .gov.in or .nic.in address, or it will ask for a fee, an OTP, or an identity number to show a list. Leave it.

A public examination of records and works, usually with the Gram Sabha, so the village can check attendance, payments and assets. See social audit.

What must be on a Janata Board?

Details of the work, estimated labour days, material quantities and item-wise costs, displayed at the worksite.

Can I see last week’s muster?

Yes. Official FAQs describe weekly disclosure, including muster rolls and payments, and weekly meetings at the Gram Panchayat. The official portal and the panchayat register are the places to look.

Practical examples

If I work 125 days in a ₹300 State, what is the unskilled wage at the notified rate?

₹37,500, if every day is accepted on the muster. In Haryana, at ₹409, 125 days would be ₹51,125. Use the calculator for other States.

If work is 8 kilometres away in a ₹300 area, what extra is due?

10% of the wage rate, which is ₹30 a day, provided the work is still inside the Block.

If ₹6,000 is 20 days late after the 15-day point, what delay compensation is due at the official rate?

0.05% of ₹6,000 is ₹3 a day. Over 20 days that is ₹60, in addition to the wage itself.

Who should I go to first if work or a wage is stuck?

The Gram Panchayat, then the Programme Officer at the block, then the District Programme Coordinator. Take a written acknowledgement with you.

Are contractors allowed?

No. Official FAQs say contractors cannot be engaged for works financed under the Act, and that labour-displacing machines are not to be used as far as practicable.

What facilities should a worksite have?

Safe drinking water, shade for children and rest periods, and a first-aid box, plus a Janata Board.

Can PMAY-G house work be taken up under this guarantee?

Official FAQs say PMAY-G works can be taken up for 90 or 95 person-days of wage support, as per applicable guidelines. Confirm the current guideline at the panchayat; do not treat that sentence as a sanction for a particular house.

Does a natural calamity change the rules?

Official FAQs say the Central Government can allow special relaxations, such as a wider list of works or relaxed documentation, on a State government’s recommendation in a calamity or other extraordinary situation.

Official FAQs say the material component must not exceed 40% at the district level.

What is a Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan?

A local plan prepared by the Gram Panchayat and approved by the Gram Sabha. Official FAQs say works under the Act must come from that plan.

Who is the Programme Officer?

An officer not below the rank of Block Development Officer, at the block.