Addressing the media in Bhopal, Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the new framework guarantees 125 days of employment annually to rural households, up from the current 100 days under MGNREGA. He also said all existing provisions under MGNREGA would remain operational during the transition period, and incomplete works under the old scheme would continue until July 1.
“The rollout of G RAM G from July 1 is a positive structural intervention for rural livelihoods, as it will further strengthen local economic activity. With guaranteed employment expanding to 125 days of work and with a sharper focus on local infrastructure and productivity, the programme has the potential to stabilise rural incomes and reduce seasonal uncertainty for households. This would translate into higher and more consistent rural consumption, particularly across daily-use FMCG categories,” Mohit Malhotra, global chief executive officer (CEO) at Dabur India told Business Standard.
Malhotra also said that for FMCG companies with a strong rural footprint, this creates a stronger demand environment and supports deeper market penetration. “If implemented smoothly, the programme can reinforce rural purchasing power and contribute to a more resilient consumption-led growth model for Bharat,” he added.
“The guaranteed 125 days of employment annually to rural households, up from the current 100 days under MGNREGA, under the new framework, and government plans to use the programme not only for wage employment but also for large-scale creation of rural infrastructure will result in improved rural income. This will have a significant impact on rural demand,” said Mayank Shah, vice-president, Parle Products.
He explained that the emphasis on works permitted under the scheme includes water conservation projects, village roads, bridges, culverts, school and anganwadi buildings, and farm-linked infrastructure, unlike MGNREGA where the focus was just on wage employment, which will help improve rural development and income generation means.
Worldpanel by Numerator expects the transition from MNREGA to G RAM G marks a shift from a pure rural income support framework towards a more productivity and infrastructure-led model. “While farm employment is essential for rural growth, we also see the increasing role that non-farm employment is playing in recent years. Therefore, the likes of MNREGA or now VB-G RAM G are important programmes for thriving rural consumption,” said K Ramakrishnan, managing director-South Asia, Worldpanel by Numerator.
“We see consumption being impacted in two different ways here,” he said and explained that the higher 125-day entitlement should continue to support essential consumption and FMCG spends, and the essential 60-day pause is expected to boost available labour and, therefore, farming productivity, which, in turn, will positively impact farmer income.
“While there could be a short period of stress as the rural household adjusts to the new rhythm, over the medium term, better infrastructure and livelihood assets could support more resilient and higher quality rural spending — provided execution remains strong at the state level,” he further explained.
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