Karnataka generated 2.04 crore person-days of employment under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, from 1 July to 13 October 2026. The scheme replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) in the state from 1 July 2026. Employment during the corresponding period of 2025 was 1.71 crore person-days under MGNREGA.
Employment guarantee and household entitlement
Each rural household is eligible for up to 125 days of employment annually under VB-G RAM G. The daily wage is ₹382 for both men and women, without gender discrimination. A household receiving the full 125 days can earn up to ₹47,750 in a year at this rate. The increase in demand for work in Karnataka was attributed to rainfall deficit associated with the El Niño effect, which affected rural livelihoods.
Raichur district recorded 24 lakh person-days, followed by Bidar with 21 lakh and Koppal with 18 lakh. Compared with the previous year, employment generation rose by 340% in Vijayanagara, 257% in Kalaburagi, 207% in Koppal, 175% in Ballari and 173% in Bidar. Karnataka issued 87,164 new job cards during 2026 and conducted e-KYC verification of existing cards.
Eligible works and rural assets
Works under the scheme include desilting and rejuvenation of lakes, canals and ponds, social forestry, cattle sheds, farm ponds, compost pits, soil-erosion prevention and rural connectivity roads. The expanded list also includes houses under housing schemes, community halls and rural bus stands. These projects are intended to create permanent assets in villages.
Wage disbursement and administration
On 12 October 2026, Karnataka’s Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar Khandre directed officials to issue show-cause notices to 308 Panchayat Development Officers, 74 taluk executive officers and 12 deputy secretaries. The notices concerned delays in wage payments across 311 gram panchayats in 12 districts.
Important Facts for Exams
- A person-day represents one person’s employment for one day.
- MGNREGA provided a statutory rural employment guarantee of up to 100 days per rural household annually.
- El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, a climate pattern involving changes in Pacific Ocean temperatures.
- A gram panchayat is the elected village-level institution in India’s rural local-government system.
The VB-G RAM G entitlement stated for rural households is up to 125 days of work annually. Raichur, Bidar and Koppal recorded the three highest person-day totals among Karnataka districts for the stated period.
