The draft also stated that starting from the financial year immediately following the Act's commencement (ie, FY27), a portion of the "normative" allocation, could also be determined based on performance criteria. These criteria included timely wage payments, compliance with social audit requirements; the percentage of work completed in a financial year and other performance-related indicators the Centre may specify over time.
For UTs, the normative allocation will also be based on performance criteria or any other parameter deemed fit by the Centre. The VB-G RAM G will come into force across India starting July 1, replacing MGNREGA. Comments on the draft rules can be submitted by June 21.
A section of the civil society group have been criticising the VB-G RAM G Act saying that the "normative" allocation enabled the Centre to arbitrarily decide the quantum of funds to be allocated to states. This, in turn, will also determine how many days of employment can be provided in that state, which is against the demand-driven spirit of MGNREGA.
However, the Centre, through a series of FAQs on the scheme, had been countering the criticism saying that "normative" funding aligned VB-G RAM G with the budgeting model used for most of the central schemes, without reducing the employment guarantee. It argued that a demand-based model could lead to unpredictable allocations and mismatched budgeting.
Meanwhile, the draft rules also stated that the fund sharing between Centre and states shall be as per sub-section (2) of Section 22 of the Act which is 60:40 for all states and UTs and 90:10 for north-eastern and hilly states.
The rules also stated that any expenditure incurred by the state or the UT in excess of the annual "normative" allocation shall be borne by the state government or Union Territory under sub-section (5) of Section 22 of the Act.
“For the purposes of ensuring transparency, monitoring and informed assessment at the central level, all expenditure under the scheme, including expenditure in excess of the approved normative allocation, shall be captured through the designated Management Information System (MIS). Also, the designated MIS shall enable component-wise and source-wise reporting of expenditure, so as to distinctly identify the portion financed from central assistance and the portion financed by the state government on account of expenditure beyond the normative allocation,” the rules stated.
“One major shift visible in the rules is the move away from the classic demand-driven logic of MGNREGA toward a “normative allocation” framework. To be fair, this shift was already built into the VB-GRAMG Act itself, but the draft rules now operationalise it in much greater detail through allocation formulas, expenditure procedures, and monitoring mechanisms,” a civil society group representative said.
Also, the draft rules laid down a strong digital architecture for the implementation of the VB-G RAM G Act, many of which had become part of MGNREGA implementation in the last few years.
Performance criteria to fix a portion of normative allocation under VB-G RAM G
* Timely payment of wages
* Compliance with social audit requirements
* Percentage of completion of works in a financial year
* Similar other performance-related indicators as specified by the Centre from time to time
 "VB-G RAM G")