According to the report, 63 percent of the budget of the Rural Development Department has been given to VB-G, RAM G and PMAY-G. Image Credit source: ChatGPT
In this year’s budget of the Rural Development Department, the new scheme VB-G Ram Ji, which replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), has got the largest share. According to the report, this scheme has been given about 40 percent of the total allocation of the department. An analysis of the budget conducted by PRS Legislative Research for the Ministry of Rural Development said that Rs 95,692 crore has been allocated to VB-G Ram Ji in the budget, which is about 40 percent of the total budget of the Rural Development Department.
In the financial year 2026-27, in the total budget of the Rural Development Department, 40 percent has been allocated for VB-G-Ram Ji and 23 percent for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G), which together makes the total allocation for rural development 63 percent. Whereas National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) have got eight percent share each, while National Social Assistance Program (NSAP) has been given four percent.
Rs 1,97,023 crore has been allocated to the Ministry of Rural Development in the financial year 2026-27, which is four percent more than the revised estimate for the financial year 2025-26. The Department of Land Resources has been allocated Rs 2,654 crore, which is 51 percent more than the revised estimate for financial year 2025-26.
Budget reduced for MNREGA
The amount allocated for MNREGA this year was Rs 30,000 crore, which is 66 percent less than last year’s revised estimate of Rs 88,000 crore. Allocations for all other schemes have increased compared to the previous financial year, with the allocation for PMAY-G increasing by 66 per cent to Rs 54,917 crore. The allocation for PMGSY has increased by 73 percent compared to last year’s revised estimate to Rs 19,000 crore. The report also points out that under MGNREGA, in the last five years, wage payments have accounted for about 70 per cent of the total expenditure of the scheme. Material cost was 26 percent of the total expenditure, of which about 20 percent was borne by the central government. Thus, the Central Government has borne about 90 percent of the total expenditure on the scheme.
VB-G RAM G expenses may increase
The report said, “With the change in the pattern of fund sharing under the VB-G RAM G Act, the expenditure by state governments on the scheme may increase. Under the VB-G RAM G Act, which guarantees 125 days of work, the central and state governments will share the expenditure in the ratio of 60:40, except in the North-Eastern and Himalayan states, where the ratio will be 90:10. The report also said that in the last decade Employment under MGNREGS has been on an average of 48 days per family in 2020-21, with the average employment generation falling to 50 days per family in 2024-25. During 2017-25, seven crore families demanded work, out of which six crore families (90 percent) could get work.
reduction in salary
The report also said that over the years, the actual wages paid to workers have often been lower than the notified rate. According to the report, in 2025-26 (by December 2025), out of 31 states and union territories, the wages paid to workers in 20 states and union territories were below the notified wage rate. In Andhra Pradesh, workers got Rs 268 against the notified Rs 307, in Chhattisgarh the figure was Rs 245 against Rs 261 and in Gujarat the figure was Rs 264 against Rs 288.
Workers in Karnataka got Rs 342 as against the notified Rs 370. The difference was even higher in Rajasthan (Rs 221 against Rs 281) and Tamil Nadu (Rs 268 against Rs 336), while workers in Telangana got Rs 259 against the notified Rs 307. For rural housing, Rs 54,917 crore has been allocated to Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin, an increase of 69 per cent; However, so far only about 70 per cent of the targeted houses have been completed in various phases, with delays due to land availability, migration, disruptions caused by Covid-19 and beneficiary level problems.
