Rural Households’ Participation in MGNREGA Programme of Puducherry

Aims: The study aimed to identify the factors determining the participation of rural households in the MGNREGA programme of the Puducherry.

Study Design: The study has utilised both purposive and random sampling methods to identify sample districts, sample blocks, sample revenue villages, and sample respondents for interview.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Puducherry and Karaikal districts of Puducherry in the month of July 2022, the data collected pertains to agricultural year 2021-2022.

Methodology: Primary data was used in the study. The main methodology used in identifying the factors determining the participation in MGNREGA programme was Logit Regression. A well- structured interview schedule was used to collect data from the sample respondents. A sample of 120 beneficiaries and 120 non- beneficiaries of the MGNREGA programme were chosen at random and relevant data were collected.

Results: The estimates of the logit regression shows that education, family size, primary occupation, women headed family and possession of livestock are found to be the major determinants of participation. The family size and women headed family positively influence the probability of participation of rural households in MGNREGA programme and are significant at 1% and 5%, respectively. The variables such as education and possession of livestock were found to be significant at 5% level and negatively influencing the probability of participation of rural households in MGNREGA programme. Likewise, the variable primary occupation was found significant at 1% level and negatively influencing the probability of participation of rural households in MGNREGA programme.

Conclusion: The participation of rural households in MGNREGA programme is determined by the factors such as education, family size, primary occupation, women headed families and possession of livestock. Thus, the rural households with low education level, large family size, non- farm worker, women headed family and less possession of livestock are the major characteristics of the rural households which makes them to demand for MGNREGA job.