🗞️ Why in News The Ministry of Rural Development has notified the Schedule of Permissible Works under the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G] Act, 2025, listing 375 works, a 41% expansion over the 266 works under the earlier framework. The works fall under four pillars: Water Security (128), Core Rural Infrastructure (111), Livelihood-related Infrastructure (98) and, for the first time, Disaster Preparedness (38).
The Act in Brief
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Law | Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 |
| Replaced | Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 |
| In force | 1 July 2026 |
| Guarantee | 125 days of wage employment per rural household per year (MGNREGA: 100) |
| Planning unit | Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan, approved by the Gram Sabha |
| Tracking | Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack (digital) |
For background, our 11 May 2026 article covers the Act’s notification. What is new is the list of works the guarantee can be spent on.
The New Schedule: Four Pillars
| Pillar | Works | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Water Security | 128 (the largest) | Check dams, gully plugs, underground dykes, recharge shafts, injection wells, river and nallah rejuvenation, drip and sprinkler systems, rooftop rainwater harvesting, tankas, ice-stupas and artificial glaciers |
| Core Rural Infrastructure | 111 | Solar street lights, waste-to-wealth plants, greywater units, rural libraries, veterinary and health centres, Common Service Centres, youth centres, extra classrooms and laboratories, repair of Jal Jeevan Mission water supply |
| Livelihood-related Infrastructure | 98 | Agro-processing, grading and packing units, cold storage, mini flour mills, market yards, dairy sheds, mushroom and sericulture sheds, poly-houses, aquaculture, SHG worksheds and SHE Marts |
| Disaster Preparedness (extreme weather) | 38 (a first) | Flood shelters, retaining walls, embankments, post-disaster restoration of roads and assets, fire lines and fuel-buffer zones against forest fires |
| Total | 375 | Previous framework: 266 |
Who the Works Are For
| Tag | Works | Of which individual-beneficiary |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and allied | 181 | 52 |
| Antyodaya / vulnerable households | 107 | 68 |
| Nari Shakti (women’s collectives, SHGs) | 36 | |
| Yuva Shakti (youth centres, skills, enterprise) | 36 |
The Schedule also allows stairs and ramps for Divyangjan in government buildings, and emergency evacuation and relief shelters in border areas.
What Changes, and Why It Matters
1. Livelihood assets move to the centre. Livelihood-related works rise to 26% of all permissible works, from 1.1% before. The idea is that wage work should leave behind assets that earn income, such as a cold store or a market yard, not only earthworks.
2. Climate risk enters the rulebook. A separate disaster category lets panchayats spend guaranteed wage days on flood protection and fire lines, and on repairing roads after a disaster. Ice-stupas, artificial ice cones that store winter meltwater for spring sowing, come from Ladakh.
3. Convergence by design. Repair of Jal Jeevan Mission pipelines and classrooms in government schools are on the list, and the digital stack is meant to show where Central, State and local money is already going, to avoid paying twice for the same asset.
4. Planning from below. Every work must come from the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan and be approved by the Gram Sabha, the bottom-up principle of the 73rd Amendment (Article 243A gives the Gram Sabha its powers by State law).
The Questions to Ask
| Concern | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Material-heavy works | Cold stores and market yards need more material than labour; a scheme meant for wage employment can drift towards contractors |
| Demand versus supply | MGNREGA’s core was work on demand; a long menu of planned assets must not crowd out that right |
| State finances | States now carry a larger share of the cost, so poorer States may plan fewer or cheaper works |
| Capacity of panchayats | Designing a flood wall or a poly-house needs engineers; many gram panchayats lack them |
| Social audit | More complex assets need stronger audits by Gram Sabhas to catch ghost works and inflated bills |
UPSC Relevance
GS Paper 2. Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections; Panchayati Raj and local governance; government policies and interventions. GS Paper 3. Inclusive growth; employment; disaster management; water resources.
A question worth preparing. “The shift from MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G is a shift from a right to work to a programme of assets.” Critically examine with reference to the new schedule of permissible works. (250 words)
The Mains framing. Note the gains (125 days, 375 works, livelihood and climate-resilience assets, Gram Sabha planning, digital tracking), set them against the risks (material bias, weaker demand-driven character, State fiscal stress, panchayat capacity), and suggest safeguards: a minimum labour share, time-bound payment, technical support pools at block level and robust social audit.
📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia
Prelims, statement-ready facts:
- VB-G RAM G: Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025; in force 1 July 2026; replaced MGNREGA, 2005.
- Guarantee: 125 days per rural household per year.
- Schedule of Permissible Works: 375 works (MGNREGA: 266), a 41% rise.
- Pillars: Water Security 128, Core Rural Infrastructure 111, Livelihood 98, Disaster Preparedness 38 (first time).
- Livelihood works: 26% of the total, up from 1.1%.
- Agriculture and allied works: 181; Antyodaya works: 107; Nari Shakti and Yuva Shakti: 36 each.
Prelims, the traps:
- The largest pillar is Water Security, not Core Rural Infrastructure.
- Ice-stupas are artificial ice cones for storing meltwater, a Ladakh innovation, not stupas in the Buddhist architectural sense.
- Works are approved by the Gram Sabha through the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan, not by the block office.
Mains, arguments and keywords:
- Durable assets; convergence; bottom-up planning; climate-resilient livelihoods; demand-driven guarantee; social audit.
Interview, be ready for:
- “Is a longer list of works better?” Only if the work still reaches those who ask for it, wages are paid on time, and the assets are maintained; a menu is not an outcome.
Sources: PIB, Ministry of Rural Development notifies 375 permissible works under VB-G RAM G, 6 October 2026
Source: VB-G RAM G 375 Permissible Works: The New Rural Jobs Schedule — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs
