VB-G RAM G will guarantee only centralisation, financial stress on States: Congress

The Vikasit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G] Act has come into force across India from July 1, 2026, replacing the Maha...

What Happened

The Vikasit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G] Act has come into force across India from July 1, 2026, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005.
The new legislation expands the employment guarantee from 100 to 125 days per rural household per year and introduces a livelihoods mandate (Ajeevika) alongside the wage employment guarantee.
Wages are to be transferred within 15 days directly into workers' bank or post office accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT); workers are entitled to compensation for delayed payments.
Planning under the new scheme is to be undertaken through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs), incorporating GIS-based tools, PM Gati Shakti layers, biometric/face-authenticated attendance, and AI-driven real-time dashboards.
Opposition to the law has centred on concerns about centralisation of administration, replacement of a demand-driven guarantee with a software/allocation-based system, and alleged inadequate consultation with state governments and parliamentary standing committees.
Several state governments initially opposed the scheme citing increased fiscal burden; Himachal Pradesh, for instance, projected an additional annual expenditure of ₹164 crore under the new wage norms.

Static Topic Bridges

MGNREGA (2005) — The Scheme Being Replaced

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted on 23 August 2005 and operationalised in February 2006. It was the world's largest demand-driven public works programme, legally guaranteeing 100 days of unskilled manual work per rural household per year. The Act created an enforceable right to work: if employment was not provided within 15 days of a written demand, the state government was liable to pay an unemployment allowance. Works permitted included roads, canals, ponds, and wells. At least one-third of beneficiaries were required to be women. Social audits by Gram Sabhas formed the accountability backbone.

Enacted under Parliament's residuary powers (Entry 97, Union List) as a central law applicable nationwide
Implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development
Wage payment was linked to state-notified MGNREGA wage rates (distinct from minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948)
Wages owed if work not provided within 15 days of demand; unemployment allowance payable thereafter
Social audit provisions under Section 17 of the Act; Gram Sabhas empowered to monitor implementation

Connection to this news: VB-G RAM G formally repeals MGNREGA and substitutes a new architecture that expands the days guarantee but modifies the demand-driven model, introducing digital governance tools and livelihood components that alter the character of the entitlement.

VB-G RAM G — Key Structural Differences from MGNREGA

The new law re-names the programme around the government's Viksit Bharat ("Developed India") framework and adds an "Ajeevika" (livelihoods) mission alongside the wage component. It reorganises permissible works into four priority sectors: Water Security, Core Rural Infrastructure, Livelihood Enhancement, and Climate & Disaster Resilience. Planning is centralised through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs) using PM Gati Shakti digital mapping — a shift from the bottom-up gram sabha demand model.

Days guaranteed: 125 per household per year (vs. 100 under MGNREGA)
DBT payment within 15 days; compensation for delays
Special provisions for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), persons with disabilities, single women, released bonded labourers
Biometric/face-authenticated attendance and geofencing replace paper muster rolls
At least one-third beneficiaries must be women (same as MGNREGA)
Works include disaster mitigation infrastructure (retaining walls in flood-prone areas) — a new category

Connection to this news: Critics argue that replacing demand-driven guarantees with GIS-based allocation planning and AI-driven analytics effectively shifts power over work provision from workers to administrators, undermining the justiciable right to employment.

Constitutional Basis — DPSP and the Right to Work

Article 41 (Directive Principles of State Policy) directs the State to make effective provision for the right to work within the limits of economic capacity. Article 43 directs the State to secure a living wage and decent conditions of work for all workers, including in rural areas. These DPSPs are non-justiciable (Part IV) but have been used by courts to read labour welfare into fundamental rights — notably in Sanjit Roy v. State of Rajasthan (1983), where the Supreme Court held that paying below minimum wage to work-guarantee beneficiaries infringed the right to life under Article 21.

Article 41 — right to work, education, and public assistance (Part IV DPSP)
Article 43 — living wage, work conditions, promotion of cottage industries in rural areas
DPSPs are not enforceable in courts but guide legislative policy; courts can invoke them to interpret fundamental rights
Sanjit Roy v. State of Rajasthan (1983) — minimum wage below market rate to MGNREGA-type workers treated as forced labour under Article 23
Entry 23, Concurrent List — "Social security and social insurance; employment and unemployment" gives both Parliament and state legislatures competence, but Parliament's central law prevails

Connection to this news: The shift from a demand-driven entitlement (MGNREGA) to a planned-allocation model potentially weakens the Article 41 promise of a legally enforceable right to work, a concern at the heart of the federalism and centralisation debate.

Centre-State Fiscal Relations and Cooperative Federalism

MGNREGA was a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) with 100% central funding for wages and 75% for material costs, with states bearing 25% of material and administrative costs. VB-G RAM G has altered the cost-sharing formula in ways that states contend increase their fiscal burden. This touches on the broader debate around cooperative federalism and fiscal autonomy.

Centrally Sponsored Schemes vs. Central Sector Schemes: CSS involve state cost-sharing; Central Sector Schemes are 100% centrally funded
Finance Commission (Art. 280) determines vertical devolution; horizontal distribution formula
15th Finance Commission (2021-26) — increased state share of taxes to 41%
Concerns raised by multiple state governments about increased annual expenditure under new wage norms
The Standing Committee on Rural Development's role in legislative scrutiny was allegedly bypassed

Connection to this news: States opposing VB-G RAM G are invoking cooperative federalism principles — arguing that a central law restructuring a major rural welfare programme without adequate inter-governmental consultation undermines the federal compact.

Key Facts & Data

MGNREGA enacted: 23 August 2005; operationalised February 2006
MGNREGA guarantee: 100 days per household per year
VB-G RAM G guarantee: 125 days per household per year
VB-G RAM G effective date: July 1, 2026
Nodal ministry: Ministry of Rural Development
Constitutional basis for DPSPs: Part IV (Articles 36–51)
Article 41 — right to work (DPSP); Article 43 — living wage for workers (DPSP)
At least one-third beneficiaries must be women (both MGNREGA and VB-G RAM G)
Payment timeline: wages within 15 days via DBT; compensation for delays
Four priority sectors under VB-G RAM G: Water Security, Core Rural Infrastructure, Livelihood Enhancement, Climate & Disaster Resilience