MGNREGA Wages

Provides labour budget for 45 crore persondays of work in June 2026 ahead of rollout

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj is scheduled to hold a briefing on May 20 with representatives of the Department of Rural Development on the preparatory work undertaken for implementation of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-G RAM G). According to information shared on the Parliament website, officials from the Ministry of Rural Development will brief the panel on the subject, "Preparatory work done for implementation of Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-G RAM G)." The meeting comes days after the Centre announced that the VB-G RAM G Act will come into force across the country from July 1, replacing the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The government described the move as a "historic transition" in India's rural development architecture aligned with the vision of "Viksit Bharat 2047". Under the new framework, every rural

The prime example of this is MGNREGA, which has now been replaced by the new Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (GRAMIN) or VB-G RaM G

Centre clarifies scheme to continue till VB-GRAMIN is rolled out

Civil society groups say the VB-G RAM G Bill could weaken casual labour's bargaining power, as MGNREGA served as a safety net and fall back option when farm wages turned unattractive

MGNREGA data show work demand typically dipped between July and November over the past 10 years before rising from December

The draft VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025 seeks to replace MNREGA to offer 125 days of rural work, focus on durable assets, improve transparency, and align employment schemes with rural economy and needs

The proposed change to rename MGNREGA has triggered political opposition, with the Congress objecting to dropping Mahatma Gandhi's name from one of India's largest rural welfare schemes

This improvement is attributed to multiple factors, including stronger real wages in both agricultural and non-agricultural work, increased tractor and fertiliser sales, healthy growth in farm credit

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) accused the Union government on Saturday of "misleading" Parliament and claimed that the Centre owes West Bengal approximately Rs 52,000 crore under the flagship rural employment scheme, MGNREGA. At a press conference here, TMC's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Sagarika Ghose, and deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Satabdi Roy, emphasised that West Bengal was one of the top-performing MGNREGA states before funds were halted in March 2022. They highlighted that around 1.37 crore households are enrolled in the scheme, with about 70 lakh households receiving work each year. In written responses provided in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha this week, the Rural Development Ministry informed that the total pending liability for West Bengal under MGNREGA as of March 8, 2022, when the scheme was suspended, stands at Rs 3,082.52 crore. This includes Rs 1,457.22 crore for wages, Rs 1,607.68 crore for materials, and Rs 17.62 crore for administration. The TMC ...

The matter was taken up by the Division Bench comprising Justice Sujoy Paul, acting chief justice, and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, after being mentioned earlier in the day

The incessant rains in rural parts of the country that continued in October as well made several work sites inaccessible for labourers and could have contributed to halting the field work

MGNREGA work demand fell 27.1% in September 2025, marking the third straight monthly decline, as kharif sowing, budget curbs and heavy rains reduced rural job uptake

In the wake of rain-related disasters in several parts of Himachal Pradesh, the norms under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have been relaxed in the state, increasing the number of annual man-days from 100 to 150, officials said on Friday. The revised guidelines will be specially applicable in areas where disasters wreaked havoc. The Himachal Pradesh government has declared the entire state as calamity hit and as such it was natural that the demand under MGNREGA would be more. Keeping this in view, the Union Ministry of Agriculture, Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development has recommended an additional 50 days under MGNREGA, which has been approved, an official release said. The additional man-days would be generated with the consent of the state and the Central government and the work would start with the budget available for the projects already approved where additional labour would be engaged, wherever required, the release said. Since the onset of ...

While the civil society felt the drop could be due to a squeeze in funding with the Centre directing states to cap MGNREGA labour budget spending to 60 per cent in the first six months

Over several financial years, the data shows that Tamil Nadu has received and utilised more funds than many larger and poorer states

Even as both the TMC and the BJP claim 'victory' after the Calcutta HC's order on resumption of MGNREGA in the state, political fault lines are likely to widen before Assembly polls next year

Data shows that historically, May is a month when MGNREGA work demand is among the highest as traditional activities around agriculture weaken due to the lean cropping season

The FY-26 Union Budget had allocated Rs 86,000 crore for the programme for 2025-26, which is exactly the same as the revised and budget estimates of FY-25

The Centre on Saturday sanctioned the release of Rs 2,102.24 crore to Bihar for the payment of the first installment of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for the financial year 2025-26. The amount will be used to pay the wages of MGNREGA labourers in the state. A letter to this effect was issued by the Union Ministry of Rural Development from New Delhi. Commenting on it, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said, "The development comes barely five days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bihar. The NDA government is committed to the welfare of MGNREGA workers. To pay the wages of MGNREGA labourers, the Centre has approved the release of Rs 2,102.24 crore as the first installment. We thank the PM for it." Out of the total sanctioned fund, Rs 411.47 crore will be distributed among SC labourers, Rs 438.9 for ST labourers and Rs 164 crore for Other Class workers. The arrears of MNREGA workers will also be paid after ..