Jaipur: Rajasthan has recorded a marginal decline in rural employment generation in the first three months of the newly launched VB-G-RAM-G scheme, generating 3.4 crore person-days in July, Aug and Sept 2026-27, compared with 3.7 crore person-days under MGNREGA during the corresponding period in 2025-26.The figures indicate that the new scheme has maintained a comparable pace of employment generation in its initial months despite the transition from MGNREGA to the new rural employment programme.VB-G-RAM-G stands for Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, which replaced MGNREGA as India’s primary rural employment framework from July 1, 2026.An official said that although there is demand for work, fewer people are coming forward because it is also the harvest season right now. As a result, the number of person-days being generated appears low. In the VB-G-RAM-G programme, skilled workers are also employed, so generating person-days is not a primary target of this scheme.According to data available on VB-G-RAM-G and MGNREGA portals, Rajasthan generated 1.46 crore person-days in July 2026, compared with 1.78 crore person-days in July 2025. However, employment generation under the new scheme picked up in Aug, with 1.33 crore person-days recorded against 1.10 crore under MGNREGA during the corresponding month last year.The state generated 68.5 lakh person-days in Sept this year, compared with 83 lakh person-days in Sept 2025.Overall, the state recorded a decline of around 30 lakh person-days during the three-month period compared with the corresponding period last year. However, the number of households engaged in the rural employment programme increased under the new scheme.Around 25.5 lakh households were engaged in VB-G-RAM-G works across the state in July, Aug and Sept this year, compared with 24.5 lakh households that had been engaged in MGNREGA works during the corresponding period in 2025-26.The month-wise data shows that while person-days generated under the new scheme were lower in July and Sept, employment generation was higher in Aug compared with the corresponding month under MGNREGA.
