Scheme Overview & Funding

• Background: Enacted through the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, it came into force nationwide on 1 July 2026, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005.
• Objective: To enhance rural livelihood security, create productive rural assets and support the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
• Employment Guarantee: Provides 125 days of statutory wage employment per financial year to rural households whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work.
• Funding: Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), with a budgetary allocation of ₹95,692.31 crore for 2026–27. The estimated total outlay, including States’ contributions, exceeds ₹1.51 lakh crore. 

Major Features & Revisions

• Enhanced Employment Guarantee: Increased from 100 days under MGNREGA to 125 days per rural household per financial year.
• Peak Agricultural Season: States can notify a period of up to 60 days during which scheme works are paused to ensure availability of agricultural labour.
•  Fund-Sharing Pattern:
  • 60:40 — Centre : State for most States.
  • 90:10 — North-Eastern and Himalayan States, and specified UTs with legislatures.
  • 100% central funding — UTs without legislatures.
• Priority Works: 

      Focuses on four areas:

• Water security and conservation.
• Core rural infrastructure.
• Livelihood-related infrastructure.
• Works to mitigate extreme weather events.

• Digital Governance: Uses Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), technology-enabled monitoring, social audits and grievance-redressal mechanisms to improve transparency and accountability.
• Worker Protection: Provides for unemployment allowance if work is not provided within the stipulated timeframe and compensation for delayed wage payments.
• Decentralised Planning: Gram Panchayats play a key role in preparing village-level development plans, with convergence across government programmes.