Signed into law in 2005, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (or NREGA, for short) was no ordinary legislation but a political breakthrough. The act guaranteed one hundred days a year of employment to workers in rural India. According to recent estimates, over 150 million workers are employed through the welfare scheme, making it the largest job guarantee in the world.

Its future, however, has never been more uncertain.

On January 30, the Rural Development Ministry declared that all NREGA wage payments would have be paid through a new digital app, and that this system would become compulsory just two days after the announcement. This meant that workers’ national identity cards would have to be used to both mark attendance and transfer wages. This rollout, plagued by technical issues, was a disaster. And workers have paid the price.