India’s new rural employment scheme — the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G)— recorded 474,805 persons working across 34 states and Union territories on its first day of operation on Wednesday, with four states accounting for over 80% of the total, according to data from the scheme’s National Mobile Monitoring System portal run by Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).
Notably, one of those four states — Telangana — has not yet formally notified the scheme and is operating under an interim MGNREGA arrangement permitted by the Union government.
The scheme, which replaced MGNREGA from July 1, recorded 54,878 works and 109,297 muster rolls — registers maintained at worksites recording daily worker attendance — across the country on Day 1, generating 474,805 persondays, a unit counting one person’s attendance on one day of work. Andhra Pradesh led the national tally with 149,428 persondays across 6,414 works, followed by Rajasthan with 118,080 persondays across 6,378 works, Kerala with 66,858 persondays across 2,951 works, and Telangana with 48,081 persondays across 26,203 works. Together, these four states accounted for 382,447 of the 474,805 total persondays.
Union rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will formally launch the scheme on Thursday at Mukkavaripalli village in Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh. The MoRD had made an interim allocation of ₹95,692.31 crore to states and UTs to ensure a smooth transition and timely wage payments.
{{/usCountry}}Union rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will formally launch the scheme on Thursday at Mukkavaripalli village in Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh. The MoRD had made an interim allocation of ₹95,692.31 crore to states and UTs to ensure a smooth transition and timely wage payments.
{{/usCountry}}The rollout drew sharp political reactions. Congress leader and Parliamentary Standing Committee on RD Chairman Saptagiri Ulaka called Wednesday “the saddest day for the country,” saying VB-G RAM G dismantles MGNREGA’s statutory guarantee by making employment contingent on budget allocations rather than actual demand. Ulaka demanded wages of at least ₹500 per day and restoration of the Centre’s full financial responsibility for the employment guarantee.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party, noting that Punjab — whose assembly had in December 2025 condemned VB-G RAM G as a “black law” — ultimately implemented the scheme from July 1, citing the state’s debt burden of ₹4.07 lakh crore and a debt-to-GSDP ratio of 46%. “When there is a beneficial scheme that could help the people of your own state, why not adopt it,” Puri said.