Why in news?

Recently, the Union Minister of Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar chairs the 21st meeting of Central Employment Guarantee Council.

Key Points

• Scaling up of works under Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) discussed
• The Minister emphasised that the challenge of COVID-19 must be utilized as an opportunity to strengthen rural infrastructure, create employment in rural areas and facilitate diversification of rural livelihoods

About Central Employment Guarantee Council

• It is constituted under Section 10 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), 2005.
• The tenure of the members is 1 year and the Union Minister of Rural Development is the chairman of the meeting.
• It is responsible for a central monitoring and evaluation system in MGNREGA.