VB-G RAM G Scheme Launched Nationwide with ₹95,692 Crore Allocation

India's rural employment guarantee architecture has its roots in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, which provided a statutory right to 100 days of unskilled wage employment per household per year. Over two decades, MGNREGA became one of the world's largest public works programmes, functioning as a critical social safety net, a wage floor for rural labour, and a demand-driven mechanism for rural asset creation. However, persistent criticisms accumulated: chronic wage payment delays, inadequate budgetary allocations relative to demand, administrative bottlenecks in the Management Information System (MIS), and a ceiling of 100 days that critics argued was insufficient for households in agrarian distress.

The Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025 represents a legislative overhaul of this framework. Enacted in 2025 and brought into force from 1st July, 2026, it replaces the earlier MGNREGA structure with a new statutory guarantee, raising the entitlement from 100 to 125 days of wage employment per household annually. The scheme is positioned within the broader 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India) policy vision, signalling the government's intent to embed rural employment security within a long-term development framework rather than treating it as a purely welfare measure.

All States and Union Territories have notified the VB-G RAM G Scheme and commenced implementation, reflecting the cooperative federalism dimension of the programme — the Centre sets the statutory framework and funds wages, while States manage implementation, asset creation, and local administration.