Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G)

What is the VB-G RAM G Act?

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, called VB-G RAM G, is the national rural employment law that replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005. Parliament passed it in December 2025 and the President gave assent on 21 December 2025. According to the Ministry of Rural Development, the Act came into force in all rural areas of the country on 1 July 2026, and MGNREGA stood repealed from the same date.

The VB-G RAM G Act gives every rural household a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in each financial year, up from 100 days under MGNREGA. The work is unskilled manual work on public assets: water conservation, village roads, school and Anganwadi buildings, livelihood infrastructure and climate protection works. Wages go straight into the worker's bank or post office account.

Related schemes: People who look up Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G) often also check Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Swachhata Green Leaf Rating (SGLR), GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan), Swachh Bharat Mission - Grameen (SBM-G) and Jal Jeevan Mission (Har Ghar Jal). See also all Rural Development & Sanitation schemes.

VB-G RAM G is run as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. Each state must notify its own scheme under the Act within six months of 1 July 2026. The Centre and states share the cost 60:40, North Eastern and Himalayan states share it 90:10, and Union Territories without a legislature are funded 100% by the Centre. The 2026-27 Union Budget provides Rs 95,692.31 crore as the central share, and the Ministry expects the total outlay to exceed Rs 1.51 lakh crore once state shares are added.

How is VB-G RAM G different from MGNREGA?

The core rights carry over. Work must still be given within 15 days of a demand, an unemployment allowance is still due if it is not, wages are still paid by Direct Benefit Transfer, and contractors are still barred.

Who is eligible for VB-G RAM G work?

You can ask for work if:

• You live in a rural area. The Act applies in all rural areas of the country.
• You are an adult member of a rural household.
• You are willing to do unskilled manual work.

There is no income limit, caste condition or land condition. Every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work is eligible.

You cannot apply if:

• You live in an urban area. VB-G RAM G covers rural areas only.
• You are under 18. Only adult members can be registered and given work.
• You want skilled or supervisory employment. The guarantee is for unskilled manual work, though the Act's works also need mates and other field staff hired through the state.

The 125 days are counted per household, not per person. If three adults in one household work, their days together count towards the household's 125.

What are the benefits under VB-G RAM G?

125 days of work a year. The guarantee is not less than 125 days of wage employment per rural household in each financial year (Section 5(1) of the Act).

Wages of at least Rs 300 a day. The Government of India notified new wage rates from 1 July 2026. For the first time an interim base wage of Rs 300 a day applies, so no state's notified wage is below Rs 300. The national average notified wage rose from Rs 298.8 a day under MGNREGA to Rs 327.4. Haryana (Rs 409), Goa (Rs 406), Kerala (Rs 401) and the high altitude Gram Panchayats of Sikkim (Rs 450) now pay above Rs 400 a day. Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland saw the largest rise, nearly 24.5%.

Weekly wage payment. Wages are paid weekly, and in any case not later than a fortnight after the muster roll closes, directly into the worker's bank or post office account.

Delay compensation. If wages are not paid within 15 days of the muster roll closing, the worker gets 0.05% of the unpaid wages for each day of delay.

Unemployment allowance. If work is not given within 15 days of a demand, the state pays at least one fourth of the notified wage for the first 30 days in the financial year and at least half the wage for the remaining period.

Work close to home. As far as possible work is given within 5 km of the village. If it is further away but within the block, workers get an extra 10% of the wage for transport and living costs.

Worksite facilities. Every worksite must have safe drinking water, shade for children and rest periods, and a first aid box.

What kind of work is done under VB-G RAM G?

All works must come from a Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan (VGPP) prepared by the Gram Panchayat and approved by the Gram Sabha. The Act groups works into four themes:

1. Water security: irrigation support, groundwater recharge, watershed development, reviving water bodies, afforestation and rainwater harvesting.
2. Core rural infrastructure: rural roads, public buildings, school buildings, Anganwadi centres, sanitation, renewable energy and housing works under government schemes.
3. Livelihood infrastructure: rural markets, storage, food processing and cold storage units, livestock and fisheries infrastructure, compost units and skill centres.
4. Extreme weather works: flood management structures, embankments, cyclone shelters, post-disaster restoration and forest fire management.

PMAY-G houses can be taken up under the Act for 90 or 95 person-days of wage support. Spending on materials may not exceed 40% at district level, and no labour-displacing machines are used as far as practicable.

What documents are needed?

How to apply for work under VB-G RAM G

1. Register your household at the Gram Panchayat. Any adult member gives the names, ages and address of the household's adults to the Gram Panchayat. If you already hold an e-KYC-verified MGNREGA job card, you do not need to register again until the new card is issued.
2. Complete e-KYC. Each worker's Aadhaar is verified. If e-KYC is still pending, ask for it to be done; facilitation is also given at worksites.
3. Collect your Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Card when the Gram Panchayat issues it.
4. Ask for work. Apply orally, in writing on Form 6, or through a digital platform to the Gram Panchayat, the Programme Officer or any authorised person. Say how many days you want and from when.
5. Get the dated receipt. The 15-day clock for giving work, and your right to an unemployment allowance, run from the date of your application.
6. Report to the worksite you are allotted. Attendance is marked by face authentication; there is an exception process for network or device problems.
7. Check your account. Wages should arrive weekly, and no later than a fortnight after the muster roll closes.

Who runs VB-G RAM G at the local level?

The Gram Panchayat registers households, takes work demands, executes works, keeps records and prepares the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan. At the block level an officer not below the rank of Block Development Officer is the Programme Officer. The District Collector or an equivalent officer is the District Programme Coordinator. Central and State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Councils and steering committees review the programme.

Every worksite must show a Janata Board with the work details, estimated labour days, materials and item-wise costs. Gram Panchayats hold weekly disclosure meetings, and the Act keeps a social audit system.

Common problems and what to do

• Work not given within 15 days. Ask the Gram Panchayat or Programme Officer for the unemployment allowance, quoting the date on your receipt. Without a dated receipt it is hard to prove the demand.
• Told there is no work during the farm season. Check whether your state has notified a pause period. Works are not taken up during it, but the full 125 days must be offered in the rest of the year.
• Wages late. Delay compensation of 0.05% of unpaid wages a day is due after 15 days from the close of the muster roll.
• Wages failed. Make sure your bank account is active and seeded with Aadhaar, and that the name matches your card.
• Old job card rejected. A job card stays valid only if e-KYC is complete. Get e-KYC done at the Gram Panchayat or worksite.

Where to get help

Complaints about registration, work allotment or wages go first to the Gram Panchayat and then to the block Programme Officer. District-level issues go to the District Programme Coordinator. The Ministry of Rural Development's programme portal is nrega.dord.gov.in, and the Ministry's own FAQ on the Act was published by PIB on 11 May 2026.