NREGA is now Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

1. Panchayati Raj in India has completed its Golden Jubilee on October 2, 2009.
2. 50 years ago on 2nd October, 1959, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the 1st Prime Minister of India laid the foundations of Panchayati Raj at Naguar in Rajasthan
3. To mark the occasion a National Convention was organized at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on October 2, 2009.
4. Two important announcements were made: the renaming of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) after the Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and observing the year 2009-10 as the “Year of Gram Sabha” by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in presence of the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi , Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister ,Dr.C.P. Joshi and a large number of Gram Pradhans, Sarpanchs and village representatives from all over the country.
5. Prime Minister emphasised on the needs of Panchayati Raj Institutions to play a pivotal role in the nation’s development. Peoples’ participation is a must to implement the Government’s programmes and schemes in a transparent and effective manner. Dr. Singh stressed the need to strive continuously to make panchayati raj institutions an effective instrument of people’s power.
6. On observing year 2009-10 as the “Year of Gram Sabha”, the Prime Minister detailed that Gram Sabha provides a forum for the villagers to discuss, deliberate, accept or reject the proposals of Gram Panchayat.
7. Dr. Singh said that the decision to rename National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) is a humble tribute to the Father of our Nation.
   with inputs from PIB Press release dated October 2, 2009