- Why in news
- On 5 November 2026, the Department of Rural Development and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying issued a joint advisory to States and UTs. It asks them to use VB–G RAM G works for fodder security and livestock infrastructure.
- What it is
- VB–G RAM G is the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. It is the statutory rural wage-employment framework that ties wage work to durable assets planned through Gram Panchayat plans. Works are chosen from a list of permissible works and planned bottom-up through Gram Sabhas.
- Wage guarantee
- The Act guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household. It came into force on 1 July 2026.
- Works for fodder
- 22 works out of 375 permissible works relate to fodder and livestock infrastructure, such as fodder banks, silage units, pastures, shelters, milk collection centres and veterinary centres.
- 5% spending target
- States are encouraged to raise spending on fodder and livestock works progressively towards at least 5% of total programme expenditure, where local needs and plans support it.
- Planning route
- Fodder works are to be integrated into Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans approved through the Gram Sabha. ICAR–IGFRI state-wise Fodder Resource Development Plans can guide district and block planning.
- Statutory safeguards
- Safeguards include compulsory social audit, a district-level 40% ceiling on the material component, weekly public disclosure and grievance redressal.
- Livestock-dependent focus
- Gram Panchayats with more than 30% livestock-dependent population may get particular attention.
- Levels of redress
- State Governments must set up the mechanism at Gram Panchayat, Block and District levels, each with designated Grievance Redressal Officers.
- District role
- The District Programme Coordinator oversees grievance redressal at the district level.
- No refusal
- A grievance cannot be refused registration for its format, language, manner of submission or any procedural deficiency.
- Escalation
- A grievance unresolved within 15 days goes to the next higher level in the State's mechanism and is monitored electronically until resolved.
- Appeals
- Appeals against orders under the mechanism are filed and disposed of as per Schedule I to the VB–G RAM G Act, 2025.
- Start of nationwide implementation
- The scheme has been implemented across all rural areas from 1 July 2026.
- Face authentication
- Face authentication was added to the NMMS app in March 2026 to curb fake attendance and wages claimed in others' names.
- Technical partner and new features
- The upgraded app was built with IIT Madras support. It adds device-level security, AI-based verification and anti-tampering safeguards.
- Wage payment safeguards
- Wages follow measurement in the electronic Measurement Book and are paid by DBT to bank accounts. Suspicious photo entries lead to the wage list and Fund Transfer Order being withheld.
- Livelihood share
- Livelihood-related works are 26 percent of the total, against 1.1 percent earlier.
- Disaster category
- A dedicated disaster preparedness and extreme weather category of 38 works is included for the first time.
Don’t confuse with DoRD vs DAHD: DoRD sits in the Ministry of Rural Development and runs the employment Act. DAHD sits in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and handles livestock policy.
Don’t confuse with Material ceiling vs spending target: The 40% ceiling on the material component is a binding district-level safeguard. The 5% fodder spending level is only an encouraged target.
Don’t confuse with Enquiry time vs resolution time: Enquiry must finish in seven working days; the full grievance must be resolved within 15 days of receipt.
Don’t confuse with NMMS app vs e-MB: The NMMS app records worker attendance. The electronic Measurement Book records the work actually done, as measured by technical engineers, and wages are based on it.
Don’t confuse with VB–G RAM G vs the previous scheme: VB–G RAM G is the 2025 Act whose Schedule has 375 works; the 'previous framework' had 266 works.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Links rural wage work to fodder security and dairy livelihoods, helping small, marginal and landless households.
- Promotes convergence between rural development, animal husbandry and agriculture departments, and climate-resilient assets.
- Gives rural workers a clear, time-bound route to complain, strengthening accountability and the rights-based nature of the scheme.
- Digital end-to-end tracking improves transparency and lets higher authorities monitor delays.
- Technology-based attendance checks can cut impersonation and leakage, protecting public funds and genuine wages.
- Links wage employment to durable assets such as water, livelihood and climate-resilient infrastructure.
- Bottom-up Gram Sabha planning strengthens local self-government.
Problems
- The advisory is not binding: the 5% target is only encouraged, so state uptake may vary.
- Fodder works must stay within the 40% material ceiling and social audit rules, which needs strong Gram Panchayat capacity.
- Capacity and staffing of Gram Panchayat and Block officers, and digital access gaps in remote areas, may weaken the system.
- States run the mechanism, so uneven implementation and fear of local reprisal may deter complaints.
- Poor connectivity, elderly or disabled workers and device problems can cause genuine workers to be denied wages.
- Many works across four pillars need strong technical capacity at Gram Panchayat level.
- Convergence across Central, State and local schemes can be hard to coordinate.
Way forward
- States should prepare Action Plans with convergence among rural development, animal husbandry and agriculture departments.
- Use ICAR–IGFRI plans and Gram Sabha approval so works match local needs.
- Train grievance officers, keep helplines and in-person options, and publish disposal data regularly.
- Use social audits and independent review of escalated cases to check the digital records.
- Keep offline attendance and the exception mechanism workable, and back them with social audits and spot inspections.
- Build Gram Panchayat planning and technical capacity.
- Use the digital Stack for transparent tracking and social audit of assets.
Put in your answer
Permissible works: 22 of 375 permissible works cover fodder and livestock infrastructure: an example of asset creation linked to livelihoods.
Social audit and DBT: Social audits, public disclosure and direct bank transfers are used to make payments traceable.
Livelihood share shift: Livelihood works rise from 1.1 percent to 26 percent of permissible works.
Disaster resilience works: A new 38-work category covers flood shelters, embankments and forest-fire lines.
- 2025Mains GS4 · Q11Describe MGNREGA's objective of legal wage employment guarantee
- 2020Mains GS2 · Q17Role of SHGs in rural asset creation and income security
- 2020Mains GS4 · Q9Case study on tribal rural poverty, welfare gaps and youth migration for employment
- 2019Mains GS2 · Q18Why welfare schemes fail without beneficiary awareness and involvement
- 2006Prelims Q22Whether NREGA mandates statutory minimum wage for agricultural workers
- 2011Prelims Q41Who is eligible to benefit under the MGNREGA employment guarantee
- 2006Prelims Q73Whether 100-day rural employment is a fundamental right and women's priority
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Single answer
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
With reference to the Schedule of Permissible Works notified under the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, consider the following statements:
Which one of the following is correct?
True or false?
1 of 5
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.Livelihood-related Infrastructure has the largest number of works among the four pillars.
False. Water Security has the most works (128); livelihood has 98.
2.Works under the Schedule are to be planned through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans approved by the Gram Sabha.
True. Plans are bottom-up and approved by the Gram Sabha.
3.The Schedule includes a dedicated disaster preparedness category for the first time in the rural works framework.
True. 38 works on disaster preparedness and extreme weather are a first.
4.Under the new Schedule, livelihood-related works make up about 1.1 percent of permissible works.
False. They make up 26 percent; 1.1 percent was the share under the previous framework.
5.The Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack is meant to help converge Central, State and local investments and avoid duplication.
True. The digital tracking stack supports convergence and avoids duplication.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Mains practice
15 marks · 250 words
The Ministry of Rural Development has notified 375 permissible works under the VB–G RAM G Act, 2025, grouped under four pillars: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and disaster preparedness. Examine the significance of this framework for rural wage employment and asset creation, and discuss the challenges in implementing it through Gram Panchayat-level planning.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.