"Rural employment generation falls 50% after transition to new scheme"
Person-day
unit measuring one person's work output in one standard working day, used to quantify employment generation under rural schemes.
Demand-driven scheme
a programme where entitlement is triggered by the worker's voluntary demand, not pre-allocated quotas.
India's rural employment guarantee architecture is grounded in Article 41 of the Constitution — a Directive Principle directing the state to secure the right to work. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 operationalised this by providing a statutory guarantee of 100 days of unskilled wage employment per rural household per year, making it one of the world's largest public works programmes. Over two decades, MGNREGA functioned simultaneously as a social safety net, a rural wage floor, and a demand-driven mechanism for asset creation. The Centre bore approximately 90% of wage costs, with states contributing the remainder — a cost-sharing structure that shaped Centre-State fiscal relations in welfare delivery.
Persistent criticisms of MGNREGA included chronic wage payment delays, inadequate budgetary allocations relative to demand, and the argument that the 100-day ceiling was insufficient for households in agrarian distress. The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 (Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission, Gramin) represents a legislative overhaul of this framework, enacted in 2025 and brought into force from 1st July, 2026. It replaces MGNREGA with a new statutory guarantee, raising the annual entitlement from 100 to 125 days of wage employment per household — the most significant structural change to India's rural employment guarantee in two decades.
VB-G RAM G retains the demand-driven architecture of MGNREGA — adult members of rural households who volunteer for unskilled manual work are entitled to the statutory guarantee — but introduces several structural modifications. The annual entitlement rises to 125 days per household, and the budgetary allocation for FY 2026–27 stands at ₹95,692 crore, described by the government as the highest ever for any rural employment programme. The scheme is positioned within the broader 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India) policy vision, embedding rural employment security within a long-term development framework rather than treating it as a purely welfare measure.
A notable new provision is the 60-day pause clause: the Act allows work to be suspended for up to 60 days in a financial year during peak agricultural sowing and harvesting seasons, with states implementing this in accordance with local agro-climatic conditions. …
Increase in absolute and per capita real GNP do not connote a higher level of economic development, if
With reference to the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) Yojana, consider the following statements:
1.The entry age group for enrolment in the scheme is 21 to 40 years.
2.Age specific contribution shall be made by the beneficiary.
3.Each subscriber under the scheme shall receive a minimum pension of ₹ 3,000 per month after attaining the age of 60 years.
4.Family pension is applicable to the spouse and unmarried daughters.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, consider the following statements:
1.It provides a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment per rural household per year.
2.It allows suspension of the employment guarantee for up to 60 days annually during peak agricultural seasons.
3.The Centre bears 100% of wage costs under the scheme.
4.Attendance is captured through the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) using face authentication.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Which of the following correctly describes the constitutional basis of India's rural employment guarantee schemes, including VB-G RAM G?
Assertion (A): A decline in rural employment generation under a job guarantee scheme during a deficit monsoon year can have adverse macroeconomic consequences beyond the rural sector.
Reason (R): Rural employment schemes support rural wages and purchasing power, which in turn sustain consumption demand — a key driver of GDP growth in a consumption-led economy.
Which of the following is correct?
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