From MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G: Centre announces major rural jobs overhaul from July 1

The Centre on Monday notified the implementation of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, Act, 2025, with effect from July 1, 2026, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005.

The earlier law, along with its rules, schemes, orders and guidelines, will stand repealed from July 1. The new framework has been positioned by the government as a rural employment reform aligned to the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

A wider guarantee with a sharper development focus

Under the new Act all eligible rural households will be entitled to 125 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year, more than the 100 days provided under MGNREGA.

The expanded guarantee is intended to strengthen livelihood security, improve rural incomes and support village-level development through infrastructure creation, water security and climate resilience.

It is designed to shift the programme from a welfare model to a productivity-driven rural development framework.

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No abrupt halt, says Centre amid transition

The transition is being presented as uninterrupted.

The rural development ministry has said ongoing MGNREGA works will continue until June 30 and will be carried forward under the new Act from July 1.

Existing e-KYC-verified job cards will remain valid until new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are issued. The workers are not to be denied employment because of pending e-KYC verification. Fresh registrations will continue at the Gram Panchayat level.

The overhaul extends beyond wages and worksites

The government has also placed the scheme within a larger funding and administrative overhaul.

The Centre has allocated ₹95,692.31 crore for 2026–27, while the total programme outlay, including state contributions, is expected to cross ₹1.51 lakh crore.

The Ministry is preparing draft rules in consultation with states and Union Territories on wage payments, grievance redressal, administrative expenditure, unemployment allowance, transitional provisions and allocation norms.

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The debate over rights versus results

The government’s stated argument is that MGNREGA was designed mainly as a welfare and wage-support program, while the new VB-GRAMG framework is supposed to push rural employment toward longer-term economic productivity through infrastructure creation and skills-based work.

Under the soon-to-be-replaced MGNREGA, any rural household could demand unskilled manual work, and the state was legally bound to provide it within 15 days or pay unemployment allowance.

The new VB-G RAM G still keeps the employment guarantee but adds a much stronger emphasis on infrastructure creation, climate resilience, skill-building, and productive rural assets.

Critics point to several concerns. Vision IAS notes that this act “weakens the demand-driven, rights-based character of MGNREGA by shifting toward a supply-driven and capped allocation model, undermining the statutory right to work”.