The Centre on Thursday launched the ‘Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)’ (VB-G Ram G) from Andhra Pradesh, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with an expanded rural employment programme that guarantees 125 days of wage employment, up from the previous 100 days.
Launching the scheme from Mukkavaripalli village in Tirupati district, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the programme reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ensuring that “every hand gets work and every stomach gets food”.
Sharing the financial contours of the scheme, Chouhan said the Centre will spend more than Rs 95,000 crore in the first year, while the total annual outlay, including the states’ 40 per cent share, will be around Rs 1.51 lakh crore. Over the next five years, the government aims to invest Rs 7.5 lakh crore under the scheme, translating into an average annual expenditure of more than Rs 2 crore for each of the country’s 2.86 lakh gram panchayats. He said the programme seeks to create durable rural assets while expanding employment opportunities.
The minister said the scheme provides a legal guarantee of employment, making it mandatory to provide work within 15 days of demand. If employment is not provided within the stipulated period, workers will be entitled to unemployment allowance. He also announced a legal provision for payment of interest in cases where wages are delayed, saying labourers must receive the “full value of their sweat”. Administrative expenditure under the scheme has been increased from 6 per cent to 9 per cent, with more than Rs 13,000 crore earmarked for salaries and operational support for Gram Rozgar Sahayaks, mates and other field-level personnel.
Highlighting the decentralised nature of the programme, Chouhan said decisions on development works would be taken by gram sabhas rather than by governments in Delhi or state capitals. Village assemblies will decide whether they require anganwadis, schools, hospitals, roads, farm roads, ponds, check dams, Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) infrastructure, flood protection works or other assets. States will also be allowed to classify panchayats into categories based on development levels and provide additional funds to backward panchayats.
For Andhra Pradesh, Chouhan announced a special Central allocation of Rs 7,707 crore for nine months under the scheme, saying it would significantly boost rural employment and infrastructure. He also announced that the minimum wage under the programme would not be less than Rs 300 in any state, while workers in Andhra Pradesh would receive between Rs 312 and Rs 315 per day.
The Union minister also announced 74,212 new houses for Andhra Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G). In addition, 146 rural roads and 19 bridges worth more than Rs 422 crore have been approved under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-IV (PMGSY-IV). Approval letters for both projects were handed over to the Andhra Pradesh government during the event.
Addressing concerns raised by Totapuri mango growers, Chouhan said the Centre would procure large quantities of the fruit under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) to protect farmers from falling prices. He added that scientific teams would work with the Andhra Pradesh government on improving productivity and introducing better mango varieties.
The minister also called for greater public participation in environmental conservation, urging citizens to plant at least one tree on their birthdays. He administered a pledge for environmental protection and for building developed villages, a developed Andhra Pradesh and a developed India.
Speaking at the launch, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu described VB-G Ram G as a transformative programme for rural India, saying it builds upon MGNREGA with enhanced employment, stronger rural infrastructure and greater social security for landless labourers. He said digital master rolls, Aadhaar-based payments, geo-tagging and real-time monitoring would improve transparency and eliminate leakages in implementation.
Naidu said the state plans to invest around Rs 1 lakh crore to transform Rayalaseema into a horticulture hub, including Rs 40,000 crore in public investment and Rs 60,000 crore in private investment under the Purvodaya programme. The investment would support irrigation projects, warehouses, road connectivity and other infrastructure to strengthen the horticulture sector.
The Chief Minister also highlighted ongoing projects such as Amaravati, Polavaram, the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, data centres and a proposed fighter aircraft manufacturing project, saying these initiatives would contribute to the vision of “Swarna Andhra Pradesh” and complement the national goal of making India a developed country by 2047. He also reiterated his political stand that Andhra Pradesh should have “one permanent capital” rather than three capitals.
Union Minister of State for Rural Development Chandrashekhar Pemmmasani said the scheme not only increases guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days but also introduces unemployment allowance if work is not provided. Union Minister of State Kamlesh Paswan said the programme would support more than 300 categories of rural development works and serve as a key pillar of the Viksit Bharat vision.
Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan praised Chouhan’s nearly five decades in public life, describing his career as one dedicated to farmers, rural development and public service. He said Andhra Pradesh had received approvals worth Rs 12,845 crore for rural development under the Centre’s support and had improved its ranking under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) from 24th to first in the country. He said the decision to launch the scheme nationally from Andhra Pradesh reflected the Centre’s confidence in the state’s rural governance model.
Before the formal launch, Chouhan and Naidu visited a farm pond site, performed a ground-breaking ceremony, planted saplings, witnessed a demonstration of the “Magic Drain” initiative and toured an exhibition showcasing Andhra Pradesh’s rural development initiatives.
