The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (or VB-G RAM G) has replaced the 21-year-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (or MGNREGA).

The VB-G RAM G Act provides a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment per financial year to rural households whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work (up from 100 days under MGNREGA). However, under the new system, the States’ contributions to the scheme will increase by 300%.

In this episode we discuss how this change reflects on Indian welfare policy, and more.

Guest: Rajendran Narayanan, Associate Professor at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

Host: Nitika Francis

Producer and editor: Jude Weston

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Published - July 27, 2026 06:10 pm IST