Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is a social security scheme launched by the Indian government in 2005. It aims to provide at least 100 days of employment to rural households who volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The workers are paid daily wages and the maximum daily wage under the scheme is fixed by the government. In Odisha, Job card-Aadhaar mismatch is affecting the workers of MGNREGS greatly. The job card serves as an identity proof for the workers and the Aadhaar card is linked to their bank accounts for payment purposes. When there is a mismatch between the two cards, it becomes difficult for the workers to access the benefits of the scheme. Here are some ways in which Job card-Aadhaar mismatch is affecting the workers:

• Workers are not able to get their wages credited to their bank accounts due to mismatch in Job card-Aadhaar details
• The workers have to run from pillar to post to get the mismatch corrected, which leads to a delay in payment
• There have been cases where the workers are denied work despite having a valid job card and Aadhaar card simply because there is a mismatch between the two
• The scheme was launched to benefit the rural poor, but Job card-Aadhaar mismatch is making it difficult for the workers to avail the benefits, ultimately defeating the purpose of the scheme

In conclusion, the MGNREGS has the potential to uplift the rural poor, but the issue of Job card-Aadhaar mismatch needs to be addressed for the effective implementation of the scheme.