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The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, which has replaced the 20-year-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), has been allocated Rs 95,692.31 crore in the Union Budget 2026.
Chakradhar Buddha, an expert with LibTech, said the Government of India is projecting VB-G RAM G as an improvement over MGNREGA by promising 125 days of employment. But the budget tells a very different story.
“By current standards, providing employment to all active households would require a central allocation of at least Rs 2.3 lakh crore. Instead, the Union Budget allocates only Rs 95,692 crore. Even this allocation is contingent on states contributing their 40 per cent share, which comes to about Rs 64,000 crore, without which the scheme cannot be fully operational,” he said.
Buddha added that this clearly shows the gap between the promise of expanded employment and the resources actually committed.
According to the current allocations, the Act will cover only 52 days of employment as against the promised 125 days.
Rajendran Narayanan, faculty at Azim Premji University and researcher at LibTech India, said the current allocation does not clarify the estimates for state budgets, which adds to the confusion on implementation of the scheme, instead of bringing clarity.
Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Rural Employment has been allocated Rs 30,000 crore for MGNREGA in the Union Budget 2026-27 announced on February 1.
This is in addition to the Rs 88,000 crore that were allocated in the fiscal year 2025-26. Experts said the additional amount could have been allotted to potentially clear current dues and also to cover expenditure for February and March.
It may also be to cover the transitional costs as VB-G RAM G, if not implemented from April, will have to meet those estimated expenses.
VB-G RAM G was introduced and passed within three days amid uproar and chaos in December 2025.
The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a national platform of workers' collectives, trade unions, organisations and individuals engaged in public action on NREGA, criticised the allocation.
“The Union government has allocated Rs 30,000 crore for MGNREGA for FY 26-27. As current MGNREGA finances stand, FY 25-26 is on track to end with outstanding liabilities of at least Rs 11,000 crore, a conservative estimate using FY 24-25 trends for February and March. Adding to this
other pending liabilities owed under MGNREGA, for instance the dues to West Bengal, outstanding liabilities add up to approximately Rs 15,000 crore. Therefore, of the Rs 30,000 crore allocation for MGNREGA for FY 26-27, half is likely to be used for simply clearing outstanding dues,” a statement by the platform read.
It added: “The Centre has given no clarity on what this allocation is intended towards. If it is meant to be used for MGNREGA work in the first quarter, as the VB-G RAM G programme gets set up, it is woefully inadequate. As per historical trends, April to June are the heaviest months for NREGA work, before the agricultural season begins. At least 40% of the FY’s budget is spent in this quarter. Therefore, adjusting for outstanding liabilities, the allocations of Rs 30,000 crore is significantly inadequate to provide employment during the crucial summer months. The government’s disregard for workers is evident.”