Over 74 lakh rural jobs provided in TN under MGNREGS in FY 2024-25

chennai: a total of 74.34 lakh rural employment opportunities were provided in tamil nadu under the mahatma gandhi national rural employment guarantee scheme (mgnregs) during the financial year 2024-25, the union ministry of rural development said on monday.ina written reply to a question in the rajya sabha, union minister of state for rural development kamlesh paswan informed that the number of beneficiaries in the state was 79.39 lakh in 2023-24 and 75.79 lakh in 2022-23.detailing the fund allocation and expenditure, he said that in 2022-23, the centre released ₹9,743.53 crore to tamil nadu under the scheme, while the total expenditure, including the state's share, amounted to ₹11,420.95 crore.inthe following year, 2023-24, the central release increased to ₹12,616.53 crore, and the total expenditure stood at ₹13,395.54 crore.however, in the current fiscal year 2024-25, the centre has released ₹7,585.49 crore so far, while the total expenditure under the scheme has reached ₹10,744.75 crore.to further enhance the livelihood potential of mgnregs workers, the government of india had launched project unnati in december 2019. the initiative is aimed at upgrading the skill sets of active workers to enable them to shift from wage employment under the scheme to more sustainable self-employment or regular wage-based occupations.the project seeks to benefit two lakh workers across the country. as of march 31, 2025, 90,894 individuals in tamil nadu have already undergone skill development training under the initiative.