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.
