In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

1. "adult " means a person who has completed his eighteenth years of age;
2. "applicant " means the head of a household or any of its other adult members who has applied for employment under the Scheme;
3. "Block " means a community development area within a district comprising a group of Gram Panchayats;
4. "Central Council " means the Central Employment Guarantee Council constituted under sub¬section (1) of section 10;
5. "District Programme Coordinator " means an officer of the State Government designated as such under sub-section (1) of section 14 for implementation of the Scheme in a district;
6. "household " means the members of a family related to each other by blood, marriage or adoption and normally residing together and sharing meals or holding a common ration card;
7. "implementing agency " includes any department of the Central Government or a State Government, a Zila Parishad, Panchayat at intermediate level, Gram Panchayat or any local authority or Government undertaking or non-governmental organisation authorised by the Central Government or the State Government to undertake the implementation of any work taken up under a Scheme;
8. "minimum wage ", in relation to any area, means the minimum wage fixed by the State Government under section 3 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (11 of 1948) for agricultural labourers as applicable in that area;
9. "National Fund " means the National Employment Guarantee Fund established under sub¬section (1) of section 20;
10. "notification " means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
11. "preferred work " means any work which is taken up for implementation on a priority basis under a Scheme;
12. "prescribed " means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
13. "Programme Officer " means an officer appointed under sub-section (1) of section 15 for implementing the Scheme;
14. "project " means any work taken up under a Scheme for the purpose of providing employment to the applicants;
15. "rural area " means any area in a State except those areas covered by any urban local body or a Cantonment Board established or constituted under any law for the time being in force;
16. "Scheme " means a Scheme notified by the State Government under sub-section (1) of section 4;
17. "State Council " means the State Employment Guarantee Council constituted under sub-section (1) of section 12;
18. "unskilled manual work " means any physical work which any adult person is capable of doing without any skill or special training;
19. "wage rate " means the wage rate referred to in section 6.