assets and skilling workers to map assets. Over the last decade, it has been observed that more than half the NREGA funds have been spent on water related projects. This was very much needed because water bodies have been shrinking, especially in rural India. India became a water deficient nation 5 years ago, and every year since then, the water level has shrunk further. Though over Rs 20,000 crores under MGNREGA has been spent each year during the last decade on developing rural water bodies, wells, aquifers, catchment areas, etc, these were not permanent assets. Convergence There has been increasing rationale for convergence of MNREGA with other government schemes. Assets created under the act have been converged with aligning assets from other schemes such as housing and sanitation schemes. Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme was converged in 2012. Trekking trails have been planned in Himachal Pradesh. Convergence calls for greater inter-department cooperation. While convergence has been seen as a way to save resources, at the same time it weakens income means for those availing the scheme. Composition of youth workforce In 2013-14, the ratio of young workers among total MGNREGA workers was 13.64 per cent which came down to 7.73 percent in 2017-18 before rising to 9.1 percent in 2018-19 and 10.06 percent in 2019-20.The trend shows that a steady decline in the proportion of young workers, those between 18 and 30, under the Act has halted and has begun to rise in the wake of demonetisation and the rollout of GST. This has been projected by a section of analysts as a reflection of rural distress intensifying. Subsequent developments By 2015, over a thousand advisories and circulars related to the act had been issued. New amendments proposed in 2014 Union Rural Development Minister Nitin Gadkari proposed to limit MGNREGA programmes within tribal and poor areas. He also proposed to change the labour: material ratio from 60:40 to 51:49. As per the new proposal, the programme will be implemented in 2,500 backward blocks. Both proposals came in for sharp criticism. A number of economists with diverse views opposed the idea of restricting or "focusing" implementation in a few districts or blocks. In the November 2014 cabinet expansion, Birender Singh replaced Nitin Gadkari as rural development minister. Among the first statements made by the new minister was an assurance that NREGA would continue in all districts. Around the same