Aadhar is not a factor for MGNREGA job rejection, according to the Center

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) recipients must not be denied employment because an Aadhar number is not available, according to a directive from the federal government to all states.

The recipient who shows up for work should be asked for their Aadhaar number, but they won’t be turned down for employment because of it, it said.

Additionally, it was said that if a recipient does not request labor, this would not impact their eligibility for the Aadhaar-Based Payment Bridge System (APBS). Job cards cannot be removed on the grounds that the employee is not qualified for APBS.

It has been brought to the attention of the Central government that several transactions of wage payment are being rejected (due to old account number) by destination bank branch in many cases due to frequent changes in the Bank Account Number by the beneficiary and non-updating of the new account number by the Concerned Programme Officer of the same, the government highlighted.

The Aadhaar Payments Bridge System (APBS) was determined to be the optimal method for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) salary payments after consultation with various stakeholders, according to the Centre. The recipients will benefit from on-time salary payments.

By screening out phony beneficiaries, APBS plays a crucial role in assisting legitimate beneficiaries in receiving their just compensation and in reducing corruption. Aadhaar-enabled payment is not used by Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. The Aadhaar-based Payment Bridge system has been chosen for this project.

The mixed method of wage payment (NACH and ABPS route) has been extended until December 31, 2023, or until further order, after an assessment of the Aadhaar-based Payment System’s (ABPS) development.

It should be mentioned that APBS has been in use under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS since 2017.

13.97 crore of the 14.33 crore active beneficiaries have their Aadhaars seeded. A total of 13.34 crore Aadhaar have been validated against these seeded Aadhaar, and 81.89% of active employees are now qualified for APBS. Approximately 88.51 percent of wages were paid via APBS in the month of July 2023.

Additionally, when Aadhaar is enabled for DBT, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data shows a better success percentage of 99.55 percent or above. This success rate for account-based payments is about 98%.