Poverty reduction is the key priority among the global development challenges. Policymakers around the world are working on different welfare programmes in developingcountries to make an impact, especially in the rural area since the magnitude is acute. Thequestion is what is working and how much? India adopted the biggest social protectionscheme in the world in 2006, NREGA; and India is the country with the largest number ofpeople in poverty in the globe. Hence, what is the rationale of this huge scheme?Furthermore, Orissa and Bihar form the epicentre of poverty in India. This paperinvestigates what is the contribution of NREGA to the reduction of poverty in Bihar. Theresearch examines the justification of the Scheme through the academic and politicalframework mainly based on official data.