The government has allocated over Rs 1.25 lakh crore for the next fiscal for the new and existing rural jobs guarantee schemes.
Structural Transition
The finance ministry has allocated Rs 95,692 crore for the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar Aajeevika Mission (Grameen) (VB-G RAM G), while keeping Rs 30,000 crore for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to clear pending dues from spilling over to FY27.
The VB – G RAM G Act promises 125 days of manual work annually and will replace the two-decade old MGNREGA that guarantees 100 days of work annually. It is expected to be notified by April 1, which will provide states a six month transition time, rural development ministry officials had stated recently.
In the revised estimate for FY26, the allocation for MGNREGA is Rs 88,000 crore. “This will provide fresh momentum to rural India,” agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
The total allocation for the department of rural development for the next fiscal is Rs 1.94 lakh crore, marginally higher than Rs 1.86 lakh crore as per the Revised Estimate for 2025-26.
Strengthening Rural Livelihoods
Under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin, Rs 54,917 crore has been earmarked for the next fiscal against the actual expenditure at the Revised Estimate level which was pegged at Rs 32,500 crore.
The allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for next fiscal is Rs 19,000 crore, at the same level as the BE for 2025-26. As per the revised estimate, the spending under PMGSY last fiscal was Rs 11,000 crore .
For the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission, the allocation for 2026-27 is Rs 19,200 crore, while at the BE level the allocation was Rs 19,005 crore last year. The actual spending under the mission was Rs 16,000 crore as per the revised estimate for FY26.
Building on the lakhpati didi programme, aimed at improving the livelihoods of poor rural households and organising rural households into self-help groups (SHGs), the Budget proposes setting up self-help entrepreneur (SHE) marts.
The allocation for the department of land resources, part of the rural development ministry, has been pegged at Rs 2,654 crore in FY27 against RE of Rs 1,757 crore in the current fiscal.