VB-G RAM G: Work Restrictions Lifted in All 38 Districts of Bihar

Publication date: 22 October 2026

Introduction

Bihar's Rural Development Department has lifted the stop imposed under the VB-G RAM G scheme because of the farming season. Regular work will now be available in the 22 flood-affected and 16 drought-affected districts, that is, all 38 districts of Bihar (The Hindu).

Key Facts

• So that farming is not disrupted, construction work had been stopped during the work-break period from 22 October to 10 December 2026. In view of the disaster situation, this has now been relaxed (The Hindu).
• According to the department, the flood damaged basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges, culverts and embankments, while the drought affected the rabi crop and reduced the demand for farm labour. Giving employment to workers who returned for the festivals is also an aim.
• The VB-G RAM G (Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)) Act, 2025 is in force in the rural areas of the whole country from 1 July 2026 (PIB).
• The Act gives a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment to every household whose adult members wish to do unskilled manual work (PIB).
• According to The Hindu, the funding of the scheme between the Centre and the State is in the ratio of 60:40.

Exam Utility

Rural employment guarantee, welfare legislation, disaster relief.

Update of 24 October: The Gram Panchayat Development Plan

Why in the News: Background material of the Ministry of Rural Development of 24 October 2026 explained the process of the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan (VGPP) under VB-G RAM G. This is a new reference on the national scheme framework, separate from the earlier news of the lifting of the work-break in Bihar.

• Four major areas: water security, basic rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and reducing the impact of extreme weather events.
• What is VGPP: an integrated plan of development works based on the needs of a gram panchayat and the gaps in existing assets and services. It is prepared with the participation of the gram sabha and the gram panchayat; the gram sabha recommends and approves it.
• The order of planning: listing existing assets, identifying needs, setting the priority of works and joining the resources of different departments and schemes. An asset here means a useful structure such as a road, a water structure or another public facility.
• Location-based information: the plan is made by taking information on places and facilities from tools such as the Geographic Information System (GIS), Yuktdhara and PM Gati Shakti. GIS is a system for seeing place-linked information together on a map. The purpose is to reduce the duplication of works and identify the real gaps.
• Further compilation: the plans of gram panchayats are consolidated at the block, district, State and national levels. According to the release, 318 types of permissible works have been identified under the four major areas in the VGPP framework.

Keep claims and evidence separate: The ministry has described the transition from Mahatma Gandhi NREGA to the new framework as seamless. This is the government's statement; it has not been treated as the conclusion of an independent evaluation. The process of making a plan and its actual results are also different things.

Source: Background material of the Ministry of Rural Development, 24 October 2026

Prelims Style: Practice Questions

Update (23 October 2026): Upgraded Secure Version of the NMMS App and Overall Figures

• The VB-G RAM G scheme has been in force in all rural areas since 1 July 2026; about 46 crore person-days (one person's one day of work = one person-day) have been created so far.
• Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the upgraded secure version of NMMS (National Mobile Monitoring System - a mobile app that records worker attendance at the worksite), developed with the technical support of IIT Madras.
• New features: face authentication from March 2026; offline attendance when there is no network; multi-level verification before wage payment, which includes AI-based photo de-duplication (detection of duplicate/fake photos).
• Statement of 23 October 2026: The PIB release of that day said that 10.997 crore farmer IDs had been created and that the target of 11 crore was set by December 2027.
• New statement of 24 October 2026: According to the next PIB release, 11 crore farmer IDs had been created by the night of 23 October; it stated the target date as 31 March 2027. The target dates in the two government releases are different. Both statements have been placed here with their dates; the available releases do not settle the reason for this difference.

Sources

• The Hindu (22 October 2026): https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bihar/vb-g-ram-g-restrictions-lifted-workers-to-get-work-in-all-38-districts-of-bihar/article71607565.ece
• PIB (31 July 2026): https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2292536
• PIB (23 October 2026): https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2327556 - NMMS upgraded version and 46 crore person-days; figures quoted in the minister's statement.
• PIB (24 October 2026): 11 crore farmer IDs: statement with the achievement of the night of 23 October and the target date of 31 March 2027

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