Public Policy Interventions and Social Inclusion: The Case of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, India

This paper examines the promises and potential of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA hereafter), 2005, a flagship programme of the Ministry of Rural Development Government of India, in relation to its impact on the processes of social inclusion in the countryside Based on a critical review of secondary literature concerning the ongoing assessment of the NREGA various states of India, it identifies the gaps and lacuna in its implementation at the grassroots level. a related vein, this paper also hints at the linkages between public policy intervention, participator governance structures and the quest for political legitimacy by the democratic state. It argues the public policies are not to be judged only by what they actually accomplish in terms of preset target and objectives but also by their contribution to the processes of mobilisation of the poor and the deprived. Very often, public policy interventions set in motion consolidation of interest constellation at the local level and facilitate articulation of collective rights. In this sense, they help spread the scope of citizenship among the masses and reinforce political integration in a culturally diverse country.