VB-G RAM G rules: What changes as the new job scheme replaces MGNREGS from July 1?
The Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 — commonly called VB–G RAM G — is set to come into force across India from July 1, 2026, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005.
The Act was passed by Parliament on December 18–19, 2025, received Presidential assent, and the Centre has released draft rules ahead of the nationwide rollout.
The statutory employment guarantee is raised from 100 to 125 days per financial year for rural households.
The demand-driven "labour budget" funding model of MGNREGA is replaced by a "normative allocation" model, under which Centre determines state-wise allocations using objective parameters; expenditure beyond the normative allocation is to be borne by the state.
Wages are to be transferred directly into workers' bank or post office accounts via DBT; the government targets payment within 3 days, with a statutory 15-day deadline; workers are entitled to compensation for delayed payments.
States may notify up to 60 days per year as seasonal work pauses during peak agricultural seasons (sowing and harvesting), during which scheme work cannot be undertaken.
Existing MGNREGA job cards (e-KYC verified) remain valid until new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are issued; ongoing works as on June 30, 2026 are carried over seamlessly.
MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005)
MGNREGA is a demand-driven rural employment guarantee that legally entitles every rural household to 100 days of wage employment per year on unskilled manual work. It is widely regarded as the world's largest public works programme.
Key Details
- Enacted under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005; renamed MGNREGA in 2009.
- Right-based approach: employment is a legal entitlement, not discretionary; non-provision triggers unemployment allowance liability.
- Funding: primarily by the Centre (wages 100% central; material costs shared 60:40 between Centre and states); administrative costs shared.
- Social audit provisions: mandatory social audits by Gram Sabhas to check irregularities (Section 17).
- Works permitted: water conservation, drought proofing, irrigation, land development, rural roads, and other listed categories.
- Average employment provided: approximately 54–65 days per household per year in recent years (not the full 100-day entitlement).
VB–G RAM G is the statutory successor to MGNREGA; understanding MGNREGA's design and outcomes is essential to evaluating what changes — and what continuities — the new Act introduces.
Normative Allocation vs. Demand-Driven Funding
Under MGNREGA, the Centre was obligated to fund wage employment on demand — the "labour budget" mechanism estimated demand from the ground up. Critics argued this created an open-ended fiscal commitment; proponents saw it as the key to the Act's rights-based character.
Key Details
- The shift to normative allocation under VB–G RAM G means the Centre determines state funds using objective parameters (likely population, poverty index, historical utilisation).
- Expenditure beyond the normative ceiling will be a state liability — a significant change for states with high MGNREGA utilisation (e.g., Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan).
- Parliamentary Standing Committee recommendations reportedly flagged concerns about the transition and urged a phased approach.
This is arguably the most consequential structural change in VB–G RAM G — moving from a demand-led, Centre-funded entitlement to a formula-based allocation could constrain the programme's reach in high-demand states.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in Social Schemes
DBT is the Government of India's mechanism for transferring subsidies and wages directly to beneficiaries' bank or post office accounts, bypassing intermediaries to reduce leakage and improve efficiency.
Key Details
- DBT was launched in January 2013 and progressively extended to MGNREGA wages, LPG subsidies, scholarships, and other programmes.
- The JAM trinity — Jan Dhan Yojana (bank accounts), Aadhaar (biometric identity), and Mobile (communication) — underpins DBT implementation.
- MGNREGA DBT wage payments must, by law, be made within 15 days of completion of work; delays attract a compensation of 0.05% of unpaid wages per day.
VB–G RAM G retains DBT as the payment channel and sets a 3-day processing target within the 15-day statutory window, building on the DBT infrastructure established under MGNREGA.
Rural Employment and Livelihood Policy in India
Rural employment policy has evolved from emergency relief programmes (National Rural Employment Programme, 1980; Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme, 1983) to rights-based entitlements (MGNREGA, 2005). VB–G RAM G marks a further shift toward mission-mode, asset-creation-linked employment.
Key Details
- The scheme widens the type of permitted works to include livelihood assets for Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), and disaster mitigation infrastructure.
- Budget allocation for 2026–27 reportedly exceeds ₹1.51 lakh crore — a record.
- Cost-sharing ratios: 60:40 (Centre:State) for most states; 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan states; 100% Central for UTs without legislatures.
The expansion of permissible works to include SHG/FPO assets signals a shift from pure employment creation to livelihood promotion, aligning the scheme with the broader Viksit Bharat @2047 development vision.
- Full name: Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025.
- Parliament passage: December 18–19, 2025; Presidential assent received.
- Effective date: July 1, 2026.
- Employment guarantee: increased from 100 to 125 days per rural household per year.
- Funding: Centre:State ratio — 60:40 (general); 90:10 (NE and Himalayan states); 100% Centre for UTs without legislatures.
- Budget 2026–27 allocation: over ₹1.51 lakh crore.
- Wage payment channel: DBT (bank/post office accounts); target 3 days, statutory maximum 15 days.
- Delayed payment compensation: entitled; payable if wages not disbursed within 15 days.
- Unemployment allowance: payable if employment is not provided on demand.
- Seasonal work pause: states may notify up to 60 days/year during peak agricultural seasons.
- New job card: Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card (existing MGNREGA cards valid in the interim).
- Ongoing MGNREGA works as on June 30: automatically carried over to the new scheme.
- Funding model shift: demand-driven labour budget → normative (formula-based) allocation.