The Great Transition: Viksit Bharat – G RAM G (2026)

From MGNREGA to G RAM G: How India Is Redesigning Rural Employment.

The landscape of rural India is undergoing its most significant structural shift in two decades. In December 2025, the Indian Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, widely known as VB – G RAM G. Effectively replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), this new mission is not just a rebranding; it is a fundamental pivot from "poverty alleviation" to "productivity-led growth."

As we enter the 2026-27 fiscal year, G RAM G stands as the centrepiece of India's rural economic policy. Below is a deep-dive analysis of the mission’s architecture, its controversies, and its long-term vision.

 

1. The Core Statutory Guarantee: 125 Days

The most visible change is the expansion of the legal guarantee. Under the old MGNREGA framework, households were entitled to "not less than 100 days" of work. In practice, due to software ceilings and budget caps, 100 days often became the maximum limit.

• The New Standard: G RAM G raises the statutory guarantee to 125 days per rural household. This 25% increase is designed to provide a more robust income floor for the landless poor.
• Predictability: The Act moves away from "ad-hoc" work to a scheduled work calendar. Households can now better plan their financial year, knowing they have a 125-day buffer.

 

2. The "Agricultural Pause": Balancing Farm & Labor

One of the most debated features of G RAM G is the Statutory Agricultural Pause. For years, farmers complained that MGNREGA competed with them for labour during the peak harvesting and sowing seasons, driving up costs and causing crop delays.

• The 60-Day Window: States are now empowered to notify a "pause" in public works for up to 60 days in a financial year. This pause is timed to coincide with peak agricultural cycles (like the Kharif sowing or Rabi harvest).
• The Win-Win Logic: The government argues this ensures labour is available for food production (preventing farm-level inflation) while ensuring the 125-day guarantee is fulfilled during the "lean" seasons when no farm work is available.

3. The Infrastructure Stack: Four Priority Verticals

Unlike the "digging holes and filling them" criticism often aimed at previous schemes, G RAM G is built around the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack. Every hour of labour must contribute to one of four "durable asset" categories:

1. Water Security: Massive investment in groundwater recharge, desilting of ponds, and micro-irrigation.
2. Core Rural Infrastructure: Building all-weather internal village roads and digital common centers.
3. Livelihood Infrastructure: Constructing cold storage, drying yards, and cattle sheds to help farmers move up the value chain.
4. Extreme Weather Mitigation: Special works like flood embankments and cyclone shelters to build climate resilience.

 

4. The Fiscal Pivot: 60:40 Cost-Sharing

Perhaps the most controversial change is the funding model. Under MGNREGA, the Central Government bore 100% of the unskilled wage cost.

• Cooperative Federalism or Burden? G RAM G shifts to a 60:40 sharing ratio (Centre 60%, State 40%) for most states. Northeastern and Himalayan states maintain a 90:10 ratio.
• The Rationale: The Centre argues this gives States "skin in the game," encouraging them to monitor for fraud more strictly since their own budgets are at stake.
• The Risk: Fiscally strained states (like West Bengal, Bihar, or Kerala) may struggle to provide the 40% share, potentially leading to "shadow caps" where work is denied because the State cannot afford its portion.

 

5. Technology-Driven Governance (The Digital Fortress)

G RAM G is "Digital by Design." To eliminate "ghost workers" and middleman leakages, the mission employs a high-tech monitoring ecosystem:

• Biometric Authentication: Real-time attendance via Aadhaar-linked biometrics at the worksite.
• Geospatial Tracking: All assets are geo-tagged and monitored via satellite and drones to ensure that a road "on paper" actually exists on the ground.
• AI-Enabled Audits: Artificial Intelligence is used to flag anomalies in wage payments or suspicious clusters of work demand.

 

6. Summary Comparison: MGNREGA vs. G RAM G

Feature	MGNREGA (Old)	VB – G RAM G (2026)
Legal Guarantee	100 Days	125 Days
Central Funding	100% of wages	60% of total costs
Agricultural Sync	No formal pause	60-day notified pause
Planning Logic	Demand-driven	Saturation-based (Viksit Gram Plan)
Asset Quality	Variable / Often temporary	High-durability / Stack-aligned

 

7. The 2047 Vision: Livelihood over Labor

The ultimate goal of G RAM G is to make itself redundant by 2047. The mission emphasizes Ajeevika (Livelihood) by integrating with skill development programs. The hope is that a worker who starts doing manual labour on a G RAM G water tank will eventually be trained as a plumber or a solar technician under the same mission’s "skilling" wing.

The Litmus Test

The success of VB – G RAM G will depend on one factor: Disbursement. If the transition to the 60:40 model leads to wage delays or "budget exhausted" signs at the Panchayat level, the scheme risks losing the trust of the rural poor. However, if the digital infrastructure works and the assets created actually boost farm productivity, G RAM G could be the engine that drives India toward its "Viksit Bharat" (Developed India) goal.

To analyze the implementation of VB – G RAM G (Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission), we should look at Jharkhand, a state where the transition from MGNREGA has become a major flashpoint for federal, fiscal, and social debate as of February 2026.

In Jharkhand, the rollout is being met with a "Dual Reality": while the Central Government promotes it as a digital revolution, the State Government and local activists view it as a threat to the rural poor's "Right to Work."

 

1. The Political Friction: Jharkhand vs. The Centre

As of January 2026, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has emerged as one of the loudest critics of G RAM G, calling the Act an "interference with the soul of MGNREGA."

• Resolution of Opposition: Following the lead of Karnataka and Punjab, the Jharkhand government is considering a formal resolution in the State Assembly to oppose the Act.
• The Rights-Based Argument: The state argues that by removing the name of Mahatma Gandhi and shifting to a "normative allocation" (budget caps set by the Centre), the government has turned a legal entitlement into a discretionary welfare scheme.

2. The 60:40 Fiscal Crisis

The most critical implementation hurdle in Jharkhand is the funding split. Previously, the Centre paid 100% of unskilled wages. Now, Jharkhand must bear 40% of the cost.

• The Financial Burden: For a state with limited fiscal headroom like Jharkhand, contributing 40% to a program that employs millions is a massive strain.
• The "Wait and Watch" Effect: There are reports that the state is hesitant to sanction new works because they are unsure if their 40% share will be available in the state treasury. This has led to a "hidden freeze" on project approvals in several districts like Latehar and Simdega.

3. The Digital Barrier: Biometrics & Satellite Tracking

Jharkhand’s rural landscape—characterized by hilly terrain and poor internet connectivity—is a tough testing ground for G RAM G’s high-tech requirements.

• Connectivity Gaps: The mandate for real-time biometric attendance at worksites is causing "Loss of Work" days. Workers travel to sites, but if the server is down or the thumbprint doesn't register, they aren't marked present and lose their day's wage.
• Drones & AI: While satellite monitoring is intended to prevent "ghost projects," local panchayat leaders in Jharkhand argue that it slows down the process. Small, vital works like individual farm ponds are sometimes flagged as "anomalies" by AI systems that don't understand the local topography.

4. The Livelihood Shift: "Passion" over "Pits"

On the ground, the Central Government is pushing the "Viksit Gram" model. In districts like Khunti, G RAM G labour is being diverted from traditional road building to Asset Stacks:

• Lac Cultivation Infrastructure: Laborers are being used to build sheds and processing units for lac (a local forest product), aiming to turn workers into small entrepreneurs.
• Water Security: Over 60% of current projects in Jharkhand are focused on desilting traditional Dobhas (small ponds) to combat the state's chronic water scarcity.

 

Summary of Implementation Status (Jharkhand - Feb 2026)

Feature	Status in Jharkhand	Impact
Wage Payments	Transitioning to Weekly	Improved liquidity for workers, but hampered by bank server issues.
Labour Demand	Discouraged Worker Effect	Workers are avoiding the scheme due to biometric failures and "Agricultural Pauses."
State Funding	Under Severe Stress	Potential for significant wage delays if the State's 40% share isn't released.
Protests	High	Massive "Mazdoor Mahapanchayats" were held on Feb 2, 2026, demanding the return of MGNREGA.

 

The "Agricultural Pause" in Jharkhand

Jharkhand has notified its first 30-day "Harvest Pause" for the Rabi season. While this helped large farmers find labour for harvesting, it left landless labourers without income during that month, intensifying the debate over whether the government is "managing labour supply" for the rich rather than helping the poor.

Please read the Press Note Details: Press Information Bureau Viksit Bharat- G RAM G Act 2025.

Regards,

Amit Raj,

Author, Learner and Trader.