Despite MGNREGS being a demand-driven scheme, the allocation of funds has not been able to keep up with the increased demand for work. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21 and 2021-22, revised estimates for the scheme were 81 per cent and 31 per cent higher than budget estimates for the corresponding years. However, for the financial year 2023-24, the allocation for MGNREGS has decreased 33% from the previous year's revised estimates.