Abstract:
Social security refers to protection provided by the society to its members against
providential mishaps over which a person has no control. The important philosophy behind
social security is that state shall make itself responsible for ensuring a minimum state of living to
its citizens. Evidence shows that social security or safety net are making a substantial
contribution in the fight against poverty, safety net help people escape extreme poverty, close the
poverty gap and reduce inequality. Realizing the positive impacts of social security measures
Government of India has started many such programmes. These programmes can be broadly
classified into self-employment programmes, wage employment programmes, food safety
programme and social security programmes. With this background the paper aims at analyzing
various social security measures undertaken by government of India and to analyze the impact of
MGNREGA on employment, income and poverty in India. The present paper is descriptive in
nature and based on secondary data. The paper is presented in two parts, part I discusses various
social security programmes undertaken by government in India and second part deals with
impact of MGNREGA. The paper concludes positive impact of MGNREGA on employment,
income generation and asset creation.
