Traditionally, during May, the demand and employment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has been recorded to be on the higher side as it is a lean period between the Rabi and the incoming Kharif season. However, the demand for work and employment has dropped 26% & 48% in May 2021. This is in sharp contrast to 2020, when MGNREGA was widely credited to have provided safety to millions of workers who migrated to their villages after losing jobs due COVID-19. Experts have attributed this steep drop in the demand for work and employment to penetration of the COVID-19 virus to rural areas and peoples' hesitancy to be exposed to the virus at the worksites.