First instalment of ₹25,863 crore under VB-GRAM G released

Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday (July 5, 2026) released the first instalment amounting to ₹25,863 crore to all States for the rural employment programme under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act [VB-GRAM G], even as concerns remain over the overtly centralised planning for the programme.

Uttar Pradesh received the highest allocation at ₹3,210.76 crore, followed by Andhra Pradesh at ₹2,545.5 crore, and Rajasthan at ₹2,274.37 crore. Tamil Nadu received ₹2,176.84 crore, placing it just below Rajasthan in fourth position, while Kerala received a considerably smaller allocation of ₹925.33 crore. 

The Minister released the funds through video conferencing from Bhopal at 10 a.m. “Today, I am overjoyed and pleased to congratulate all of you, our Rural Development Ministers and officials from both the Central and State governments, on the fact that there have been no complaints whatsoever so far. This signifies that this policy has smoothly transitioned from MGNREGA (the erstwhile Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) into the Viksit Bharat G-RAM G,” the Union Minister said.

The VB-GRAM G Act came into effect on July 1, 2026. Work under the scheme will begin with the preparation of a Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan (VGPP). According to a draft framework for the VGPP released by the Ministry, the planning process will begin with the preparation of a comprehensive inventory of all assets and facilities in a gram panchayat, including those created under various Central and State schemes.

This inventory will be mapped using both geospatial and non-spatial data available on platforms, including Yuktdhara and PM Gati Shakti. Yuktdhara is a geographic information system (GIS)-based planning portal developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). PM Gati Shakti is a national master plan launched in October 2021 that brings together over 16 Ministries on a single digital platform for integrated planning and the timely execution of infrastructure projects.

Based on this database, development gaps are to be identified through a GIS-enabled assessment carried out primarily on the Yuktdhara planning portal. Taking into account “identified gaps, local priorities, demand for works and the recommendations of Ward Sabhas and the Gram Sabha”, the gram panchayat is to prepare a draft VGPP.

This is an “impossible task” and once again raises the technological barrier to access work, Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan said. “They have converted what was a bottom-up, demand-driven scheme into a top-down, centrally designed infrastructure programme,” he said.

The States were now expected to foot the bill for centrally designed programmes that catered to the Centre’s priorities rather than those of the States, he said, explaining further. “Under MGNREGA, it was the sole prerogative of the gram panchayats to decide the shelf of projects and also to determine priorities. Now, everything will be decided on a computer,” Mr. Dey said.