Assam has become the first state in India to successfully generate a Fund Transfer Order (FTO) under the newly launched Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VBG-RAM-G), meeting all mandatory benchmarks for the rural employment and livelihood scheme. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed this significant milestone on July 15, 2026.
This achievement places Assam at the forefront of the national implementation of the VBG-RAM-G scheme, which aims to provide enhanced wage employment and strengthen rural infrastructure across the country. The successful processing of the FTO ensures the timely release of wages to beneficiaries, marking a crucial step towards transparent and efficient delivery of the programme.
What was announced
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on July 15, 2026, that Assam had successfully generated the country’s first Fund Transfer Order under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin). The Chief Minister shared the development on social media platform X, stating that the state had completed all mandatory requirements under the newly introduced scheme.
These prerequisites included agency and Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) mapping, master data sharing with the National Informatics Centre (NIC)-Department of Rural Development (DRD), data integration, and the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) process. According to a progress dashboard released by the Chief Minister, Assam is currently the only state to have processed a wage-related Fund Transfer Order under the VBG-RAM-G framework, while other states and Union Territories remain in preliminary phases.
The nationwide rollout of the VBG-RAM-G Act, 2025, came into force on July 1, 2026, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005. Assam’s Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Atul Bora launched the scheme’s implementation in the state on July 2, 2026.
The country’s inaugural FTO was generated on July 5 through VBG-RAM-GSoft by the Tingkhang Development Block in Dibrugarh district. This FTO was for the development of a playground at Dirai Tea Estate Majline under Pithaguti Gram Panchayat and covered 45 wage transactions amounting to Rs 13,500. This specific instance highlighted Assam’s administrative preparedness and digital governance in ensuring transparent and timely delivery of benefits to rural beneficiaries, according to officials.
Why it matters
Assam’s proactive implementation of VBG-RAM-G is significant as it demonstrates the state’s capability to adopt and execute a complex, digitally-driven rural employment scheme efficiently. This leadership role is expected to ensure that rural households in Assam receive their guaranteed wages promptly, addressing a critical aspect of livelihood security.
The VBG-RAM-G Act, 2025, enhances the statutory employment guarantee for rural households from 100 days to 125 days of wage employment in every financial year. This increase aims to provide greater income stability for rural families, particularly those engaged in unskilled manual work. The scheme also mandates a minimum wage of Rs 300 per day, with the national average daily wage now standing at Rs 327.40, representing an approximate 10 percent increase in wage rates.
Furthermore, the scheme focuses on creating durable rural assets, which include water security projects, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and special works for extreme weather events. These initiatives are designed to improve village infrastructure, generate sustainable livelihoods, and enhance the overall quality of life in rural areas, aligning with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
Background
The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, was enacted by the Parliament of India on December 18-19, 2025, and assented to on December 21, 2025. It officially replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, which had been a cornerstone of rural employment policy for nearly two decades.
MGNREGA, passed on August 23, 2005, and implemented in February 2006, aimed to guarantee 100 days of wage employment to rural households. However, its implementation in Assam faced challenges. According to the Union Ministry of Rural Development, job generation under MGNREGA in Assam showed a decreasing trend over the last three financial years. In fiscal year 2023-24, only 22.5 lakh households were provided jobs, down from 23.01 lakh in 2022-23 and 27.36 lakh in 2021-22.
Moreover, the provision of 100 days of employment to individual households remained low. In FY 2023-24, only 19,665 households in Assam completed 100 days of work under MGNREGA, a decrease from 21,478 households in FY 2022-23. The work completion rate was also poor, with only 90,553 out of 3,82,534 initiated works completed in FY 2023-24, resulting in an overall completion rate of just 23.67 percent. These figures highlighted the need for a revised legislative framework to address structural deficiencies and enhance employment and accountability, which the VBG-RAM-G Act aims to do.
The new Act is aligned with the Government of India’s long-term development vision, Viksit Bharat @2047, which seeks to transform rural employment by integrating livelihood security with productivity, convergence, resilience, and sustainable asset creation.
Key details
The VBG-RAM-G scheme operates as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, with a fund-sharing ratio of 60:40 between the Central Government and State Governments for all states. For North-Eastern and Himalayan states, this ratio is 90:10. This sharing formula applies to wages, material costs, and administrative expenses.
Assam has already received Rs 603.96 crore as the first instalment of funds under the scheme. Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasized that these initial funds are designed to ensure timely wage payments within a 15-day window. The central government has allocated over Rs 95,000 crore to support the scheme’s operations and ensure timely payments nationwide.
The Act guarantees 125 days of wage employment per financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work. To prevent labour shortages during peak agricultural seasons, the scheme includes a provision for a 60-day break during which works under the Act will not be undertaken. State governments are responsible for notifying this period in advance.
The VBG-RAM-G framework allows for 318 types of permissible works, an increase from the previous 266 under MGNREGA. These works span various areas, including road construction, natural resource management, and water-related projects. Water security through water-related works is a top priority, especially in water-stressed regions. The scheme also mandates that women must hold at least 33 percent of the generated jobs.
Digital governance is a core component of VBG-RAM-G, with features such as biometric authentication, mobile-based monitoring, real-time dashboards, and geo-tagging of assets to ensure transparency and prevent fraud. Workers are entitled to receive wages weekly or within a fortnight of the muster roll’s closure. If payments are delayed beyond 15 days, wage seekers are entitled to delay compensation at a rate of 0.05 percent of the unpaid wages per day of delay.
What’s next
With Assam leading the implementation, other states and Union Territories are expected to accelerate their efforts to meet the mandatory benchmarks and process Fund Transfer Orders under VBG-RAM-G. The Ministry of Rural Development continues to monitor the scheme’s rollout, with Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urging state governments to provide their matching contributions promptly to avoid payment delays.
The Assam government, under Chief Minister Sarma, continues to focus on broader employment and skill development initiatives. On World Youth Skills Day, the Chief Minister highlighted efforts to build a skilled talent pool through training in over 1,700 schools and at the Assam Skill University. These initiatives aim to connect students with industry-linked programmes to prepare them for the global economy.
Additionally, the Chief Minister announced plans to create employment opportunities for around one lakh youths through the development of satellite cities and committed to investing nearly Rs 2 lakh crore over the next five years to strengthen the state’s transport infrastructure. The government has also introduced an ease-of-doing-business reform, allowing eligible rural youths to establish small industrial and Khadi units on agricultural land without requiring prior land conversion approval, aiming to boost rural entrepreneurship.