Viksit Bharat Employment and Livelihood Guarantee Mission (Rural) Launched, Legal Guarantee of 125 Days of Work for Every Rural Household

In alignment with the 'Viksit Bharat @2047' vision, the Government of India has introduced a significant reform in rural development through the launch of the 'Viksit Bharat - Employment and Livelihood Guarantee Mission (Rural)' (VB-G RAM G). The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, has been implemented across all rural areas of the country effective July 1, 2026. The transition to this mission from Mahatma Gandhi NREGA has been carried out seamlessly through digital systems.

This law provides a legal guarantee of 125 days of paid employment in each financial year. This benefit is available to all rural households whose adult members voluntarily offer to perform unskilled physical work. The mission primarily focuses on four key areas: water security, basic rural infrastructure, livelihood-linked infrastructure, and protection against extreme weather events.

At the core of this mission are the 'Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans' (VGPP), which are developed with the active participation of the Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat. This framework promotes bottom-up planning, allowing villages to identify their actual development needs and assets to prioritize works. The planning process utilizes GIS, Yuktadhara, PM Gati Shakti, and other digital mediums. Under the VGPP framework, 318 types of permissible works have been identified across the four main focus areas.

According to progress data from July 1, 2026, to September 24, 2026, there were 10.88 crore active workers in the 2026-27 financial year. During this period, 2.83 lakh assets were created, and over 31.69 crore person-days were provided. Women's participation in the mission stood at 61.65 percent. Employment on demand was provided to more than 2.81 crore people from approximately 2.23 crore rural households. Currently, work is underway in about 2.31 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country, and 15.17 crore rural employment guarantee cards have been issued. The average wage rate was 283.24 rupees per person per day.

Regarding financial progress, a total of 93,841 crore rupees has been allocated to States and Union Territories as interim allocation for the 2026-27 financial year, of which 25,880 crore rupees has been released as the first installment under the mother sanction.

Modern technology has been integrated into the mission to ensure transparency and governance. e-KYC, face authentication, and biometric authentication are being used for worker verification. For monitoring works, geo-tagging, digital measurement, electronic measurement books (e-MB), and AI-based analytics are being utilized. The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system is being used for payments, under which 3.76 crore transactions were completed in 2026-27.