91 © Institute for Research in Social Communication, Slovak Academy of Sciences EMPOWERING THE MARGINALIZED: MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT IN INDIA NIDHI VIJ Abstract: Social protection programs have been an important part of development process and planning in India since its Independence. However, after sixty-five years, around one-fourth of its population lives in poverty. Despite a plethora of social protection programs, vulnerable groups among the poor have not been well targeted. However, the recent paradigm shift towards rights-based legislations may have hit the right chord with its self-targeting mechanism. The Right to Work, or the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) provided employment to almost 55 million households and spending nearly 8 billion US dollars in April 2010-March 2011. Participation of women and socially backward groups has been exceptionally high. This paper analyzes the policy provisions, implementation and monitoring mechanism of MGNEGA to argue that policy designs with legal enforceable mechanisms and collaborative governance systems can lead to empowerment of the marginalized sections. Keywords: social protection, marginalized groups; empowerment; MGNREGA. Introduction: social protection to the marginalized It is unfortunate to be born poor, but worse to be poor, vulnerable and unprotected in a developing country. The poorest of the poor are most affected even by a slight temporary dis- ruption or loss of income and assets. They are most vulnerable to external shocks-economic, environmental or political, and have poor resilience and limited capacity to overcome them. India has a population of 1.2 billion, and even with an average economic growth rate of 6-7 percent per annum, almost one fourth of its population still lives in poverty. Seven out of every 10 Indians still live in rural areas. The social environment is complex. The economic condition of a poor is inextricably intertwined with the social dimensions of his well-being, equity and social rights (Sabates-Wheeler, Devereux 2007). The vulnerable and marginalized groups in India are not distinct and easily identifiable. The social fabric is ethnically diverse, socially stratified and heterogeneous in composition. With low literacy, abject poverty, complex social-ethnic environment, the poor and the vulnerable are mired with historical suppressions and subordinations over the generations. Often, poor and certain vulnerable sections within the poor such as women, elderly, children, disabled, and socially-excluded groups are marginalized and discriminated against HUMAN AFFAIRS 23, 91–104, 2013 DOI: 10.2478/s13374-013-0110-z Unauthenticated Download Date | 7/11/16 9:52 PM