The Center announced on Sunday that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will be replaced on July 1, 2026, by a new employment and livelihood framework called the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB–G RAM G. This is one of the largest changes to India's rural employment architecture in twenty years.
The government called the new law a "historic transition" toward a more "future-ready and productivity-oriented rural transformation" in line with the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision. It increases the statutory rural employment guarantee from 100 days under MGNREGA to 125 days annually for eligible rural households willing to engage in unskilled manual labour.At the Budget Estimate stage, the government budgeted a record Rs 95,692.31 crore for the initiative in FY27, which is the highest amount ever allotted for a rural employment program. The entire outlay, including state contributions, is anticipated to surpass Rs 1.51 lakh crore.
According to the Ministry of Rural Development, all current job cards will stay valid and active projects will continue uninterrupted after June 30, ensuring a smooth transfer from MGNREGA to the new framework.
The government stated that all ongoing projects would be "saved and carried over in the new framework seamlessly" and that "employment under MGNREGA shall continue uninterrupted till the date of commencement of the new Act."Additionally, the government attempted to reassure workers that labour budget provisions had previously been matched with state-level demand patterns and that no qualified household would experience any trouble during the transition period. Until new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are provided, current e-KYC verified MGNREGA work cards will continue to function under the new system. Workers can still register through Gram Panchayats even if they do not have work cards.

Workers will continue to receive their earnings by Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into their bank or post office accounts under the new system. Payments must be sent either weekly or within 15 days of the muster roll closing. The Act would also maintain unemployment benefits and provisions for delay compensation.
According to the government, the VB-G RAM G Act prioritises the development of rural infrastructure, livelihoods, and village-level productivity while placing Gram Panchayats at the center of local change and implementation.

The ministry also stated that a number of draft regulations pertaining to wage payments, grievance redressal, administrative expenses, unemployment allowance, transition provisions, and allocation norms are presently being prepared in consultation with states and Union Territories and will shortly be made available for public comment.