The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today released a report card on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA 'Sameeksha'. It is an anthology of research studies on the largest social welfare program in the world. Releasing the report in New Delhi, Dr. Singh said more than 120 million job cards are issued in MGNREGA each year and nearly 37000 crore rupees are earned by villagers across the country. He said MNREGA reaches and benefits 50 million rural households in the country – almost one in four families. The Prime minister said that problems of late payments has to be addressed at the earliest.

Dr Singh said, if the local bodies can rise to the challenge, the MGNREGA can very well become a silver bullet for India’s rural renewal. He said, the MGNREGA is perhaps the UPA government's most popular and successful flagship program. He said the Sameeksha has a lot of food for thought on where we stand six years since we launched this historic Act.

Dr. Singh said the MGNREGA offers the promise of entitlement, empowerment, security and opportunity to millions of our marginalized citizens. The prime minister expressed hope that policy makers, public representatives, implementing agencies and civil society enable more such independent evaluations.