Digital Verification Challenges Under MGNREGA’s e-KYC Drive

Why in the News?

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) covers nearly 26 crore registered workers across 2.69 lakh gram panchayats. Over the past six months, around 15 lakh workers were removed from the database. However, within a single month (October 10–November 14, 2025), deletions surged to 27 lakh, significantly exceeding the 10.5 lakh new additions during the same period. This spike coincides with the Union Government’s intensified push for mandatory e-KYC verification to eliminate ineligible or duplicate beneficiaries. Growing concerns indicate that the verification process may be disproportionately excluding genuine workers who lack documentation or face biometric authentication issues.

Legal Provisions on Job Cards

Statutory Requirements

• Under Para 2 of Schedule II, Gram Panchayats must issue job cards within 15 days of receiving an application.
• Job cards must include:
  • Unique number
  • Registration details
  • Insurance information
  • Aadhaar numbers (where available)

Renewal Rules

• As per Para 3 of Schedule II, job cards must be renewed every five years after proper verification.

Responsibility of States

• State governments, through Panchayati Raj Institutions, handle job card issuance, verification, and renewal.

Government’s Rationale for the e-KYC Push

• The Ministry of Rural Development states that worker verification is an ongoing process, and e-KYC is an additional step toward greater transparency and efficiency.
• The government claims digital verification improves service delivery and reduces inclusion errors.
• Over 56% of active workers have completed e-KYC so far, showing steady progress.

Methods of Worker Verification Before e-KYC

1. Digital Attendance – NMMS App

• After a year-long pilot (May 2022), worker attendance was captured digitally through the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS).
• Mates/supervisors uploaded geotagged photos twice a day from worksites.

2. Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS)

• Made mandatory in January 2023, requiring Aadhaar linkage with job cards and bank accounts.

3. NPCI Mapping

• Workers’ Aadhaar and banks’ IINs had to be mapped with the NPCI database for Aadhaar-enabled payments.

These measures aimed to eliminate duplication and ensure wages reached authentic beneficiaries.

The e-KYC Process

Under the NMMS-integrated e-KYC system:

• Supervisors capture live photographs of every worker at the worksite.
• This image is digitally matched with the worker’s Aadhaar photo, enabling instant authentication.
• Since 99.67% of active workers have Aadhaar seeded, e-KYC offers a quick verification pathway.

Link Between e-KYC and MGNREGA Worker Deletions

Earlier Digital Reforms Caused Exclusion

The introduction of NMMS attendance and ABPS led to widespread issues such as:

• Poor internet connectivity
• Inadequate digital literacy
• Technical failures preventing attendance capture
• Resulting wage losses

Aadhaar Data Mismatches

• ABPS required perfect alignment between Aadhaar, job card, and bank data.
• Even minor spelling variations triggered rejection.
• Deletions rose 247% between 2021–22 and 2022–23 during ABPS rollout.

Challenges with NMMS Implementation

Major issues included:

• Uploading irrelevant or fake photos
• Photo-to-photo capture instead of live images
• Large discrepancies between actual and digital attendance

To address this, a multi-layered verification system was introduced—100% verification at the GP level.

Why e-KYC Was Introduced

e-KYC aims to correct NMMS shortcomings by using Aadhaar-based face authentication to ensure identity accuracy.

Government Denies Direct Link to Deletions

The government asserts:

• Deletions follow a January SOP ensuring transparency.
• Workers are allowed appeals before deletion.
• e-KYC is not responsible for the spike in removals.

However, High e-KYC States Show High Deletions

• Andhra Pradesh: 78.4% e-KYC → 15.92 lakh deletions
• Tamil Nadu: 67.6% e-KYC → 30,529 deletions
• Chhattisgarh: 66.6% e-KYC → 1.04 lakh deletions

These trends raise questions about the indirect role of e-KYC in worker exclusion.

Significance of the Issue

Impact on Rural Livelihoods

Worker deletions threaten access to guaranteed wage employment across rural India.

Governance and Digital Exclusion

Over-reliance on digital verification risks excluding the most vulnerable.

Transparency vs. Accessibility

Balancing fraud prevention with inclusion remains a core challenge.

State–Centre Coordination

Varied state performance highlights gaps in digital infrastructure and administrative capacity.

Challenges

• Digital illiteracy and poor connectivity
• Biometric mismatches and Aadhaar data errors
• Inconsistent implementation across states
• Risk of excluding genuine workers
• Administrative burden on supervisors and GPs

Way Forward

• Strengthen grievance redress mechanisms
• Allow alternative ID verification methods
• Enhance digital literacy and field-level training
• Improve NMMS and ABPS systems
• Ensure no worker is deleted without proper verification and appeal opportunity