Parliament Question: Launching of VB-GRAM-G

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 235 ANSWERED ON 21/07/2026 LAUNCHING OF VB-GRAM-G 235. Shri K Radhakrishnan: Shri Benny Behanan: Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has launched Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rojgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB-GRAM-G) as a substitute for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in any State/UT; (b) if so, the details of objectives, funding pattern, and wage rates under VB-GRAM-G vs MGNREGS; (c) whether Gram Panchayats have been directed to prioritize VB- GRAM-G works over MGNREGS shelf of projects, if so, the details thereof; (d) the number of households provided employment under VB- GRAM-G vs MGNREGS in 2024-25 and 2025-26, State-wise; and (e) whether the Government admits that VB-GRAM-G lacks legal guarantee of 100 days work unlike MGNREGS, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN) (a): A new Act titled the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 has been enacted in December, 2025. In compliance of the provisions of the Act all States/UTs have since notified VB-G RAM G scheme and it has successfully been implemented in rural areas of the entire country with effect from 01.07.2026. Page 1 of 6(b): The core objectives of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB- G RAM G Act, 2025, are given at Annexure-I. As per Sub-section (2) of Section 22 of the Act, VB- G RAM G shall be a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and the fund-sharing pattern between the Central Government and the State/UTs Government shall be 90:10 for the North-Eastern States, Himalayan States and Union Territory (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir) and 60:40 for all other States and Union territories with legislature. Vide notification dated 30.06.2026 Government of India has notified the wage rates payable under the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB- G RAM G Act, 2025 . The revised wage rate is effective from 1st July, 2026. The main feature of the revised wage rate is the fixing of ₹300 as interim base wage rate. Consequent upon fixation of interim wage rate under VB-G RAM G the average national notified wage rate has increased from ₹298.8 per day under MGNREGS to ₹327.4 per day under VB–G RAM G, representing an average increase of ₹28.6 per day. The average percentage increase across the country exceeds 10 per cent. State/UT-wise notified wage rates (in Rs.) for unskilled workers under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS for financial year 2025-26 and under VB-G RAM G Scheme for the financial year 2026-27 are given at Annexure-II. (c): Under, Section 4(3) of the Act rural works planning shall be undertaken through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans prepared by the Gram Panchayats from the approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan. Further, as per para 8 of Schedule I of the act, at the time of opening new works, ongoing or incomplete works shall be prioritised for completion, subject to planning norms and the approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans. (d): States/Union Territories-wise number of households who availed employment under the erstwhile Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in the financial year 2024-25 and 2025-26 is given at Annexure-III. Page 2 of 6With regard to Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) VB-G RAM G Scheme , it is stated that the implementation of the scheme in rural areas of the entire country have started w.e.f. 1st July 2026 and over 3 crore Persondays have so far been generated under VB G RAM G Scheme. (e): The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, provides for one hundred and twenty- five days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Accordingly, the Act provides higher statutory guaranteed wage employment compared to 100 days of guaranteed wage employment available under now repealed Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. The Act further strengthens the livelihood security framework by promoting the creation of durable and productive rural assets through a convergence-based planning framework anchored in the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, technology-enabled implementation, and transparent monitoring mechanisms, with the objective of enhancing sustainable rural livelihoods and rural infrastructure. ***** Page 3 of 6Annexure-I Annexure referred to in the reply to part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 235 dated 21.07.2026. i. The primary objective of this Act is to align the rural development framework with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 by providing an enhanced statutory wage employment guarantee of one hundred and twenty-five days in each financial year to such rural households whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work, thereby enabling them to participate more effectively in the expanded livelihood security framework. ii. To focus on empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation through public works aggregating into forming Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, with a thematic focus on water security through water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and special works to mitigate extreme weather events. iii. To facilitate adequate farm-labour availability during peak agricultural seasons, and, in view of the wage-employment guarantee for the rural workforce. iv. To institutionalise convergence, saturation-driven planning and whole of government delivery through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, integrated with the PM Gati Shakti to address the varying needs of Gram Panchayats, powered by geospatial systems, digital public infrastructure, district and State planning mechanisms, with such plans aggregated at the Block, District, State and National levels. v. To modernise governance, accountability and citizen engagement through a comprehensive digital ecosystem, including biometric authentication at various levels, global positioning system or mobile based worksite monitoring, real time management information system dashboards, proactive public disclosures and the use of Artificial Intelligence for planning, audits and fraud risk mitigation. Page 4 of 6Annexure-II Annexure referred to in the reply to part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 235 dated 21.07.2026. State/UT-wise notified wage rates (in Rs.) for unskilled workers under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS for the financial year 2025–26 and VB-G RAM G Scheme for the current financial year 2026–27. Wage rate under Sl. Wage rate under Mahatma State / Union Territory VB-G RAM G No. Gandhi NREGA (2025–26) Rs. (2026–27) Rs. 1 Andhra Pradesh 307 312 2 Arunachal Pradesh 241 300 3 Assam 256 300 4 Bihar 255 300 5 Chhattisgarh 261 300 6 Goa 378 406 7 Gujarat 288 300 8 Haryana 400 409 Himachal Pradesh (Non- 9a 247 300 scheduled) Himachal Pradesh 9b 309 375 (Scheduled) 10 Jammu & Kashmir 272 300 11 Ladakh 272 300 12 Jharkhand 255 300 13 Karnataka 370 382 14 Kerala 369 401 15 Madhya Pradesh 261 300 16 Maharashtra 312 317 17 Manipur 284 300 18 Meghalaya 272 300 19 Mizoram 281 300 20 Nagaland 241 300 21 Odisha 273 300 22 Punjab 346 360 23 Rajasthan 281 300 24a Sikkim 259 300 Sikkim (Gnathang, 24b 389 450 Lachung, Lachen) 25 Tamil Nadu 336 345 26 Telangana 307 308 27 Tripura 256 300 28 Uttar Pradesh 252 300 29 Uttarakhand 252 300 30 West Bengal 260 300 31a Andaman District 342 348 31b Nicobar District 361 367 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 32 340 340 Daman & Diu 33 Lakshadweep 336 348 34 Puducherry 336 347 Page 5 of 6Annexure-III Annexure referred to in the reply to part (d) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 235 dated 21.07.2026. States/Union Territories-wise number of households who avail the employment under the erstwhile Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in the financial year 2024-25 and 2025-26 Number of households who S. No. State avail the employment 2024-25 2025-26 1 Andhra Pradesh 4693816 4286144 2 Arunachal Pradesh 300927 339319 3 Assam 1911671 1736279 4 Bihar 5109096 5143740 5 Chhattisgarh 2559730 2370021 6 Goa 3057 2469 7 Gujarat 907254 719679 8 Haryana 345718 282853 9 Himachal Pradesh 718049 535349 10 Jammu And Kashmir 732178 739056 11 Jharkhand 2022113 2279249 12 Karnataka 2910489 2273475 13 Kerala 1371611 1252946 14 Ladakh 33165 33177 15 Madhya Pradesh 3859818 3993076 16 Maharashtra 3006867 3605466 17 Manipur 525360 527048 18 Meghalaya 469938 499383 19 Mizoram 208998 216679 20 Nagaland 210547 277095 21 Odisha 2338141 2478639 22 Punjab 834467 779411 23 Rajasthan 5886109 4678494 24 Sikkim 59838 54693 25 Tamil Nadu 6532197 5668291 26 Telangana 2668863 2208274 27 Tripura 590760 581321 28 Uttar Pradesh 6525531 5375205 29 Uttarakhand 432192 380022 30 West Bengal 0 0 31 Andaman And Nicobar 3027 2073 32 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 4644 5104 33 Lakshadweep 0 0 34 Puducherry 46967 47689 Total 57823138 53371719 ***** Page 6 of 6