Explanation:

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was enacted in 2005 with the objective of providing employment opportunities to rural households. Under this Act, every rural household is entitled to 100 days of wage employment in a financial year.

Features of NREGA:
- The scheme is applicable only to rural areas.
- The scheme provides employment opportunities to rural households.
- The scheme guarantees 100 days of wage employment to every rural household in a financial year.
- The scheme provides a legal guarantee for the wage employment.
- The scheme ensures that at least one-third of the beneficiaries are women.
- The scheme provides for payment of wages within 15 days of completion of work.
- The scheme provides for unemployment allowance in case of non-provision of work within 15 days of application.

Benefits of NREGA:
- The scheme ensures livelihood security to rural households.
- The scheme provides opportunities for asset creation in rural areas.
- The scheme promotes sustainable development in rural areas.
- The scheme promotes gender equality by ensuring that at least one-third of the beneficiaries are women.

Conclusion:

NREGA is an important scheme for ensuring employment and livelihood security to rural households. The scheme has been successful in providing employment opportunities to rural households and promoting sustainable development in rural areas. However, there is a need to ensure proper implementation of the scheme and address the issues of corruption and leakages.