Correct Option (c):
The Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) was launched on October 2, 1993. Its primary objective was to provide assured wage employment for 100 days during the lean agricultural season to two adult members (one man and one woman) of a rural family living below the poverty line, who were in need of manual work and willing to do so. Therefore, option (c) accurately reflects the scheme's provision for guaranteeing employment to one man and one woman in a rural family living below the poverty line.
Incorrect Options:
Options (a) and (b) are incorrect because the Employment Assurance Scheme did not guarantee employment based on a percentage of men or women seeking jobs in rural areas. The scheme's design focused on providing employment to specific individuals within eligible households, rather than a percentage of the total job-seeking population.
Option (d) is incorrect because the scheme was not exclusively restricted to rural landless households. While landless households were certainly beneficiaries, the EAS targeted all rural families living below the poverty line, provided they met the other eligibility criteria for seeking manual work.