Exploratory data analysis to study the impact of MGNREGA on employment generation

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was designed the enhance the livelihood of rural households all across India, providing opportunities for wage employment. In recent years the program has faced a lot of challenges in terms of providing 100 days of employment to all the rural households. There has been a decline in wage employment opportunities beyond the year 2020-2021, due to ineffective management practices. In order to dive deeper into the issue, the researcher performs data-driven analysis of the MGNREGA scheme utilizing the open-source data available in the MGNREGA official website, focusing on the years 2014 to 2024, exploring the contributing factors for the decline in the scheme’s effectiveness. The researcher uncovers hidden valuable insights and visually represented them, by performing Exploratory Data Analysis on the data obtained. The data and insights generated are visually represented by employing various python libraries in Jupyter Notebook, identifying trends, correlations among variables and patterns, as well as shedding light on the scheme’s performance and area of improvement. By performing in depth analysis and visualization of the data, the researcher aims to provide valuable insights on the effectiveness and challenges faced by the MGNREGA scheme, ensuring effective implementation of the scheme. Ensuring the improvement in the economic wellbeing and livelihoods of the rural communities across India, the insights gained from the visual representation of the data, allows the policy makers to take well informed decisions, ultimately ensuring the scheme’s success.