Implemented initially in 200 districts across the country, the act was notified to another 200 districts in 2008 and it now operates in all of rural India accounting for a total expenditure equivalent to 0.3 of the national GNR NREGA is now the world’s biggest “right to work” programme and providing work opportunities for some 45 million poor rural households. In the wake of the global economic crisis, the number of days of work to which beneficiaries are entitled was increased from 100 to 200. By this token, NREGA contributed to buffer the effects of slower economic growth on the poorest households, in particular for those workers returning to rural areas after they lost their jobs in the cities. The scheme had an influence in providing “livelihood security” for large numbers of people and in ensuring that minimum wages are actually paid for unskilled, casual agricultural work - by far the primary source of earnings for poor households.