Design Salience Key to Objectives

Design salience means key provisions and features of the workfare programme, which are critical to realizing the objectives of the EGS. For example, as a social security measure, an EGS is designed differently than as an anti-poverty measure. As an infrastructure building public works programme, it carries slightly different provisions and features, than if it aims at providing supplementary employment. However, these features are not watertight, as there are multiple objectives of an EGS. They are sometimes divided into primary and secondary objectives. This chapter, first, explains some key design features of an EGS that are critical to realizing inclusive growth and development objectives. Important provisions pertain to: (a) coverage of population; (b) entitlement of employment days; (c) fixation of wage rate; (d) seasonality of employment generation; (e) types of work undertaken/nature of assets created; and (f) method of financing. It, then, examines if these provisions have the potentialities to promote inclusive growth and development. After examining the features, pertinent to promoting inclusive growth and development, it analyses as to what extent these features are part of India’s MGNREGA.