Rural job guarantee: from MGNREGA to 125 days under VB-G RAM G

For nearly two decades, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) gave every rural household a legal right to 100 days of paid work a year earlier Sec 3 MGNREGA. For millions of families it meant food in the lean season, a reason not to migrate, and a fair wage when no one else was hiring. That law has now been replaced. Here is what the new law says and how to claim your rights under it.

What changed on 1 July 2026

Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, known as VB-G RAM G. The Centre notified on 11 May 2026 that it would come into force across rural India on 1 July 2026, on which date MGNREGA was repealed. Works running on 30 June were carried over.

• 125 days instead of 100. Every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work is guaranteed at least 125 days of wage employment in a financial year.
• A farming-season pause. Each state must announce in advance a period of up to 60 days a year, during peak sowing and harvesting, when no work is taken up under the scheme. Dates can differ by area.
• Shared funding. Wages, materials and administration are now shared 60:40 between the Centre and most states (90:10 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states). The Centre fixes a yearly allocation for each state. Several states and workers' groups have objected that this could limit the work actually offered; the debate continues.
• States must notify their own scheme under the new Act within six months of it coming into force, so some local rules are still being finalised in 2026.
• Cards. Existing e-KYC-verified job cards stay valid until states issue new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards. You cannot be refused work only because your e-KYC is pending.

Step by step: how to get work

1. Register your household. Any adult member of a rural household can register at the Gram Panchayat. Give the names, ages and photos of adult members willing to work. If you have no job card, you can register now.
2. Apply for work. Give a written or oral application to the Gram Panchayat (or the block Programme Officer), saying how many days you want and from when. You are entitled to a dated receipt. Keep it safe.
3. Get work within 15 days of your application, or from the date you asked for if that is later. Check the pause period your state has notified.
4. At the worksite, check that your attendance is marked on the muster roll (the attendance register) every day. Men and women must get equal wages. Under the old law, worksite facilities such as drinking water, shade and first aid were compulsory; ask your Panchayat what your state's new scheme provides.
5. Check your payment in your bank or post office account. Wages must arrive weekly, or within 15 days of the muster roll closing.

Wages, delay compensation and unemployment allowance

• Wage rate. The Centre notifies a wage rate for each state. From 1 July 2026, no notified rate is below ₹300 a day. Ask your Gram Panchayat for the rate that applies to you.
• Compensation for delay. If wages are paid late, you are entitled to compensation for the delay, at a rate fixed under the rules and paid by the state. Ask your block office for the current rate.
• Unemployment allowance. If you are not given work within 15 days of applying, the state government must pay you an unemployment allowance, at a rate it notifies (as under the old law, earlier Sec 7 MGNREGA).

If your rights are denied

• Ask in writing. Write to the Gram Panchayat and the block Programme Officer, quoting your receipt number and dates. Keep a stamped copy.
• Grievance system. Complaints about denied work, unpaid wages or unpaid allowance go to the block and district grievance system. Grievance redressal rules under the new Act were among the rules being finalised in 2026; until then, complain to the Programme Officer and the District Programme Coordinator (usually the District Collector or CEO of the Zila Parishad).
• Social audit and Gram Sabha. Attend the Gram Sabha and social audit meetings. Ask to see muster rolls, measurement books and payment records. The new Act also requires weekly public disclosure of works and payments.
• RTI. Ask the block office for your household's work and payment records.
• Legal help. For free legal advice, call 15100 or contact your District Legal Services Authority. Workers' unions and local organisations often help with complaints too.