Overview
- The Centre notified the new schedule on Tuesday, Oct 6, 2026, formalising 375 permissible works under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) and representing a 41% expansion over the prior 266-item list.
- The list is split into four pillars with 128 water-security works, 111 core rural-infrastructure works, 98 livelihood-related works and 38 disaster-preparedness works, and includes examples such as check dams, drip irrigation, cold storage, mini flour mills, flood shelters and forest-fire lines.
- All works must be proposed in Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, approved by Gram Sabhas and digitally tracked on the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, while the Centre will set state-wise normative allocations.
- The VB‑G RAM G Act guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household and sets a 60:40 Centre-state funding ratio for most states, a change that critics say shifts more fiscal burden to state governments and to local budgets.
- Opposition leaders have protested the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name and raised concerns about the new funding split, the Centre‑determined allocation mechanics and a provision that allows states to pause works for up to 60 days in peak farm seasons, any of which could affect state uptake and the speed of rollout.