50% Collapse: India’s New Rural Jobs Scheme Faces Its First Test | Indian Express

But the first month of official data raises a difficult question: where did the rural jobs go?

In July 2026, VB-G RAM G generated 7.67 crore person-days of work, compared with 15.33 crore under MGNREGA in July 2025 — a nearly 50% year-on-year collapse. The number of rural households receiving work also fell by more than 51%.
Read: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/vb-g-ram-g-rural-jobs-decline-minimum-wages-10825474/

This video examines what happened, and whether the decline can be explained by seasonal factors alone.

We look at the monsoon deficit, stalled Kharif sowing, the new 60-day work pause provision, changes in Centre-State funding, the shift from demand-driven funding to normative allocations, and the growing role of digital verification and facial recognition in accessing rural employment.

The government says the transition has been smooth and that more than 98% of households demanding employment have been offered work. But if fewer workers are able to register demand in the first place, what does that 98% figure really tell us?

With only one month of data available, the coming months will be crucial in determining whether this is simply a difficult transition — or evidence of a deeper structural problem.

Watch the full analysis.