Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA) aims at enhancing ________ security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

livelihood

The correct option to fill in the blank is livelihood.

The word "livelihood" means the means of earning a living. It is the most appropriate word to use in this context, as it conveys the meaning of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA aiming to provide financial security to rural households by guaranteeing them at least 100 days of work every year.

The other options are not as appropriate.

• Balanced means having equal weight or emphasis on different parts. This is not the right word to use, as it does not make sense to say that the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA aims at providing balanced security to rural households.
• Total means complete or entire. This is not the right word to use, as it does not make sense to say that the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA aims at providing total security to rural households.
• Strict means severe or demanding. This is not the right word to use, as it does not make sense to say that the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA aims at providing strict security to rural households.