Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
VB-GRAMG Act 2025 (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin)
"A 2025 central legislation that replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 from 1 July 2026, guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment per rural household along with skilling and asset-creation outcomes, with an AI-driven fraud-detection layer."
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-GRAMG) Act 2025 is a central law passed by Parliament in the Winter Session 2025 that supersedes the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005 with effect from 1 July 2026. It retains the core legal right of rural households to wage employment but restructures the scheme around skilling, durable asset creation and outcome verification. Key features include: (i) a statutory guarantee of 125 days of unskilled manual work per rural household per financial year (raised from 100 days under MGNREGA), with an additional 25 days for households in drought- or disaster-notified districts; (ii) a 60:40 Centre-State cost-sharing pattern for material costs (was 75:25 under MGNREGA); (iii) total budgetary outlay of Rs 95,692 crore for FY 2026-27, the largest ever for a rural employment programme; (iv) mandatory Aadhaar-based biometric attendance via the NMMS-2 app; (v) an AI-driven fraud-detection layer using face-recognition, geo-fencing of worksites, and machine-learning analysis of muster rolls; (vi) integration with Skill India Digital Hub for paid skill-upgradation modules; (vii) outcome metrics tied to durable assets such as Amrit Sarovars, farm ponds, anganwadi buildings and rural roads under PMGSY convergence. The Act has drawn sharp criticism. Civil-society networks (NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, Peoples Action for Employment Guarantee) argue that the 60:40 funding pattern transfers fiscal burden to states, the AI fraud-detection layer reduces participation by vulnerable workers (elderly, women, persons with disabilities) who fail biometric checks, and the demand-based legal entitlement is diluted by district-level work-budget caps.
Important for UPSC GS2 (Social Justice, rural welfare, government schemes, federalism), GS3 (Indian Economy, employment, agriculture and allied sectors) and Essay. Examiners test the year of enactment (2025), date of MGNREGA replacement (1 July 2026), the 125-day guarantee, the 60:40 funding ratio, the Rs 95,692 crore outlay, and the AI fraud-detection layer. Mains angles cover MGNREGA's two-decade legacy (2005-2026), demand-driven vs supply-driven welfare, federal fiscal disputes, and exclusion errors from biometric authentication.
- 1 Replaces MGNREGA 2005 with effect from 1 July 2026
- 2 Statutory guarantee: 125 days of unskilled manual work per rural household per year
- 3 Additional 25 days in drought- or disaster-notified districts
- 4 Centre-State cost share for material: 60:40 (was 75:25 under MGNREGA)
- 5 FY 2026-27 outlay: Rs 95,692 crore, largest ever for a rural employment programme
- 6 Aadhaar biometric attendance via NMMS-2 app
- 7 AI fraud detection: face-recognition, worksite geo-fencing, ML analysis of muster rolls
- 8 Skill India Digital Hub integration for paid skilling modules
- 9 Convergence with Amrit Sarovar, PMGSY, anganwadi infrastructure for asset creation
- 10 Criticised by NREGA Sangharsh Morcha for fiscal burden on states and biometric exclusion
On 11 May 2026, the Ministry of Rural Development notified the operational guidelines of the VB-GRAMG Act 2025, with rollout from 1 July 2026. The notification confirmed the 125-day guarantee, the AI fraud-detection layer and the Rs 95,692 crore outlay. NREGA Sangharsh Morcha announced state-wide protests in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, citing the diluted entitlement and the shift to 60:40 funding that loads costs on already-stressed state budgets.
