Overview
- The Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) took effect across India on July 1, ending the two-decade MGNREGA entitlement and promising 125 days of work per eligible household under a new allocation model.
- The central government has deployed more than 100 officials to districts, asked 286,000-plus gram panchayats to hold special gram sabhas, and released an interim Rs 95,692 crore to manage the transition.
- Opposition leaders and several state governments have condemned the change and demanded repeal, with Congress saying the law removes the legal right to 100 days of guaranteed work and Himachal Pradesh’s chief minister saying the new rules force the state to bear 10% of costs.
- Analysts and editorials say VB-GRAMG replaces MGNREGA’s demand-driven guarantee with centrally determined allocations and a disputed funding split — some sources cite a possible 60:40 centre–state pattern and others note a 10% state share — raising the risk of work shortfalls if states do not pay.
- The programme’s immediate test will be the monsoon season when more than 100 districts are classed as highly vulnerable and states such as Tamil Nadu warn the centre’s first instalments fall far short of what is needed to fund promised days and wages.