VB-G RAM G rules: What changes as the new job scheme replaces MGNREGS from July 1?
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📌 Summary:
- The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G) will come into force on July 1, 2026, replacing the two-decade-old MGNREGA, 2005
- Centre has released draft rules ahead of the nationwide rollout
- Key changes vs MGNREGA: (1) Higher guaranteed wage employment days per household (2) Significant shift of funding burden onto states — Centre's share reduced (3) Top-down resource allocation — previously demand-driven; now a normative allocation set by the Centre
- New provisions in the rules (not in the parent Act): (i) Holders of verified MGNREGS job cards can access work under the new scheme — protects continuity for existing workers (ii) Sixteenth Finance Commission formula will determine the normative allocation from Centre to states (iii) Centre can set aside a portion of normative allocation for states based on certain (performance-linked) parameters
- Critics' worry: shift from "rights-based, demand-driven" model (MGNREGA) to a "scheme-based, supply-driven" model — could weaken the legal guarantee of work that was MGNREGA's core innovation
🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Governance — government schemes, transition from rights-based to performance-linked welfare; GS3 Economy — rural employment, Centre-State fiscal sharing, role of Finance Commission.
📝 Prelims Facts:
- MGNREGA — enacted 2005; guarantees at least 100 days of unskilled manual work per rural household per FY
- VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 — effective July 1, 2026; replaces MGNREGA
- 16th Finance Commission — covers FY 2026-31; will determine vertical & horizontal devolution
- "Normative allocation" — Centre fixes allocation based on a formula, not on actual state demand
🔑 Key Term: Demand-driven vs Normative Allocation — MGNREGA was demand-driven (any eligible adult demanding work must be employed within 15 days). VB-G RAM G shifts to normative allocation set by Centre using the 16th FC formula — caps fiscal exposure but may ration entitlements.
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