MNREGA to be Replaced by New ‘VB-GRAMG’ Scheme from July 1: 125 Days of Guaranteed Employment and Weekly Wage Payouts

In a major overhaul aimed at realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of rural transformation and welfare for the poor, the ‘Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aजीविका Mission (Gramin)’—abbreviated as VB-GRAMG—is set to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) nationwide from July 1, 2026. This revolutionary legislative shift seeks to make the rural economy more self-reliant, transparent, inclusive, and legally secure.

Key Highlights of the Report

• The new ‘VB-GRAMG’ scheme will completely replace MNREGA across India starting July 1, 2026.
• Legal employment guarantee for eligible rural households increased from 100 days to 125 days per fiscal year.
• The traditional 15-day payment cycle is reduced to mandatory weekly payouts directly into bank accounts via DBT.
• Rajasthan receives an unprecedented historic budgetary allocation of over ₹11,581 crore for the program.

Historic Budgetary Allocation for Rajasthan

For the financial year 2026-27, the Central Government has earmarked a record-breaking budget of ₹95,692 crore for this ambitious mission, marking the highest-ever allocation for a rural employment drive. When combined with state contributions, the total program outlay is projected to cross ₹1.51 lakh crore.

Rajasthan has secured a massive central interim allocation of over ₹7,581 crore. To supplement this, the state government will inject an additional ₹4,000 crore, which can be further scaled up depending on ground demand. This brings the state’s total available corpus to over ₹11,581 crore—an unprecedented milestone for Rajasthan’s rural labor force.

More Work Days, Zero Payment Delays

Rural laborers stand to gain significantly from this revamped framework. The most substantial upgrade is the legal enhancement of guaranteed work days; families volunteering for unskilled manual labor will now get 125 days of work instead of the previous 100-day cap.

Furthermore, workers will no longer have to face prolonged delays to receive their hard-earned money. The new guidelines mandate a weekly payment cycle, with funds routed directly into bank or post office accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), ensuring utmost transparency and speed.

Unemployment Allowance and Delayed Compensation Guaranteed

The VB-GRAMG Act introduces stringent legal accountability to curb red tape. If the local administration fails to provide employment within the stipulated timeframe, the applicant will be legally entitled to a daily unemployment allowance. Similarly, any delay in transferring weekly wages will attract mandatory statutory compensation for the worker. By converging resources from various department schemes, the mission also aims to eliminate project duplication and ensure top-notch infrastructure development in villages.

What Happens to Existing MNREGA Job Cards?

To ensure a seamless transition without panic, the government has clarified that all existing MNREGA job cards that have successfully completed the e-KYC process will remain completely valid. These cards will remain operational under the provisions of the VB-GRAMG Act, 2025, until the administration progressively issues new rural employment guarantee cards. The state government is actively executing the transition plan so that no eligible rural household in Rajasthan is left behind.