Regarding the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, consider the following statements: 1. It aims to provide 180 days of wage employment per financial year to adult members of rural households willing to do unskilled manual labor. 2. At least one-third of the wage seekers should be women. 3. If employment is not provided within 15 days, an unemployment allowance is given which is one-fourth of the wage rate for the first 30 days and at least half for the rest. How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005:   Background & Objective:  o MGNREGA was passed in September 2005 to provide a legal guarantee for wage employment under the MGNREGA Scheme.   o The objective was to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by offering 100 days of wage employment per financial year to adult members of rural households willing to do unskilled manual labor. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.   Target Group:  o The Target Group includes all rural households in need of employment and willing to do manual, unskilled work.  o Applicants submit their requests to the Gram Panchayat, which registers households and issues job cards after verification.  o At least one-third of the wage seekers should be women. Hence, statement 2 is correct.   Other Provisions:  o Employment should last at least 14 consecutive days, with no more than six workdays per week.  o The Gram Panchayat or Block Programme Officer must provide work within 15 days of application, ideally within 5 kilometers of the applicant’s village.  o Work beyond this requires an extra 10% wage for transportation and living costs.  o If employment is not provided within 15 days, an unemployment allowance is given which is one-fourth of the wage rate for the first 30 days and at least half for the rest. Hence, statement 3 is correct.