The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a flagship rural employment programme of the Government of India. Under the provisions of this Act, what is the maximum number of days of wage employment in a financial year that an eligible rural household is entitled to receive?

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your knowledge of important features of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). MGNREGA is a major social welfare legislation that guarantees wage employment to rural households. One of its core provisions is the number of days of employment that must be provided on demand, and this figure is directly asked in many exams.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The scheme mentioned is MGNREGA, a central act for rural employment.
• The question asks about the maximum number of days of employment in a financial year.
• The entitlement is for an eligible rural household, not per individual worker.
• Several day counts are provided as options, and only one matches the legal guarantee.

Concept / Approach:
MGNREGA initially guaranteed 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. This figure of 100 days is a core part of the original design and is widely quoted. Although some states have experimented with providing additional days under special conditions, the basic national guarantee remains 100 days, which is what general knowledge questions normally refer to.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Read the question carefully and note that it asks for the maximum number of days of employment guaranteed under the Act. Step 2: Recall from standard polity and economy books that MGNREGA is commonly described as guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment per rural household per year. Step 3: Look at the options and identify 100 days as one of the choices. Step 4: Consider that other figures like 90, 120, 150 or 180 days do not correspond to the basic statutory guarantee. Step 5: Choose 100 days as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can confirm this from any standard Indian polity textbook, which describes MGNREGA as providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year. Government information portals and exam oriented summaries repeat this figure. Some discussions mention proposals or special provisions for increasing the days in specific drought affected areas, but the legally guaranteed minimum on which exam questions are based is 100 days.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Ninety days is less than the mandated 100 days and therefore does not match the guarantee defined in the Act.
One hundred twenty days and one hundred fifty days have been discussed only in limited contexts or state level schemes and are not the standard national guarantee under MGNREGA.
One hundred eighty days would double the basic entitlement and has not been adopted as the core guarantee across India.
Thus, all these values are incorrect when the question is about the official guaranteed number of days under the Act.

Common Pitfalls:
A typical pitfall is confusion between the MGNREGA guarantee and provisions of other rural schemes that talk about additional work days or seasonal employment. Students may also overcomplicate the question by recalling policy debates about increasing the entitlement beyond 100 days. For examination purposes, however, you should focus on the original statutory guarantee, which is 100 days of wage employment per rural household per financial year.

Final Answer:
Under MGNREGA, an eligible rural household is entitled to a maximum guarantee of 100 days of wage employment in a financial year.