Rural jobs in India are tanking,and it's tied to government's botched revamp of its employment guarantee scheme. The shift from MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G hasn't delivered; instead,job creation has nosedived.
In July 2026, employment under VB-G RAM G is expected to show a decline of over 40% compared to July 2025 under MGNREGA. Initial data showed 7.7 crore person-days, but the Rural Development Ministry later said it might rise to 9 crore. Even so, that's still a significant drop from last year. A major blow to rural workers .
The Ministry tried explaining the slump by pointing to suspensions in some states during July 2026. Critics call this misleading since those states barely affect MGNREGA's overall numbers. The decline seems part of a wider crisis that started before the switch.
In December 2025, Parliament hurriedly passed a bill to replace MGNREGA with VB-G RAM G,aiming for an April 1, 2026 start. But the rollout was a mess. The Ministry wasn't ready — rules and guidelines weren't finalized . MGNREGA continued by default, causing confusion and inefficiency.
Draft rules for VB-G RAM G came out May 22, 2026, mostly mirroring MGNREGA's. Final rules dropped end of June, just before the July 1 switch . Daily wages set at ₹300, similar to inflation-adjusted MGNREGA rates.
The year's start was chaotic. MGNREGA officials stalled on new projects,many areas saw no MGNREGA work . A problem,since these months usually have high employment due to the agricultural off-season.
In 2024-25 and 2025-26,April-July made up nearly half of annual job creation, with 128 crore and 119 crore person-days. But 2026-27 saw just 70 crore, a 43% drop.
Major states felt the hit. Andhra Pradesh, Assam,Telangana saw small drops,but Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand faced over 60% declines . These large, poor states nearly ground to a halt during the transition .
VB-G RAM G was supposed to boost jobs with ₹95,692 crore budget for 2026-27, more than MGNREGA's previous spending. Total funding,including state contributions, was expected to hit ₹1.5 lakh crore,promising more jobs. But early results have been grim.
It's too soon to judge VB-G RAM G's long-term effects,but right now,the outlook's worrying . Job creation's lagging in India's poorest areas . Future of the program is uncertain with ongoing challenges like wage payments and new tech issues looming .
As the government struggles with these problems,rural employment under VB-G RAM G looks bleak. Ambitious budget goals seem out of reach,leaving many rural workers in a tough spot.
