VB-GRAM G employees will get a minimum of ₹300 per day as per the wage rates notified by the Center

The 21 states and union territories that were paying less than ₹300 per day under MGNREGA have increased to this level, while states already paying more than ₹300 have seen more minimal increases. Representative file image. | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Union government has set a minimum wage of ₹300 per day under the Viksit Bharat-Garantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-GRAM G), which came into effect on Tuesday, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2000.

The range of wage increases

For example, the four major states in the Hindi belt saw a significant increase in wages – ₹ 48 in Uttar Pradesh, ₹ 45 in Bihar, ₹ 39 in Madhya Pradesh and ₹ 19 in Rajasthan – compared to the latest MGNREGA rates set in 2025–26. Other north and north-eastern states that have seen wages rise above 15% to reach the ₹300 level include Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura, Sikkim and West Bengal.

Apart from the special rate of ₹450 applicable to certain gram panchayats in Sikkim, Haryana continues to have the highest wage rate of ₹409 but has seen one of the lowest increases of just 2.25%. Apart from the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, where wages were unchanged from MGNREGA levels, Telangana saw the lowest increase of just ₹1, with wages rising by 0.33% from ₹307 to ₹308. Other southern states that were already above the ₹300 mark also saw minimal increases, including Andhra Pradesh (1.6%), Tamil Nadu (2.7%) and Karnataka (3.2%).

Haryana (₹409), Goa (₹406) and Kerala (₹401) are the only states with salaries above ₹400.

“Reject the workers”

Congress general secretary and former rural development minister Jairam Ramesh criticized the announcement, saying wages remained “unjustifiably low”. He reiterated the Congress’ demand, raised during the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign under the Shramik Nyay programme, for a national minimum wage of ₹400 for all workers in India, including MGNREGA workers.

“An expert committee headed by Dr Anoop Satpathy set up by the Modi government has also recommended a national minimum wage of ₹ 375 per day in 2019,” he said.

Mr. Ramesh noted that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development, chaired by Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka, has also consistently recommended higher wages for MGNREGA workers.

With “widespread minimum wage protests in industrial centers like Noida and at a time when stagnant rural wages are widely seen as a key impediment to our economic growth”, the announcement was “an insult to Indian workers and unwise economic policy,” he said. “A fair minimum wage for Indian workers would adopt Dr. Satpathy’s recommendations and adjust to price increases since then,” he added.

Burden on states

Mr Ulaka said his party had opposed the VB-GRAM G bill “from the streets to parliament” and would continue to do so. “We appeal to the government that VB-GRAM G should be scrapped and the strengthened MGNREGA should be restored,” the Congress MP said at a press conference here. He criticized the shift from a legally based, demand-driven MGNREGA to what he described as a supply-driven, government-run VB-GRAM G.

Mr Ulaka said the key issue was the new cost-sharing arrangement. Under MGNREGA, the Center bore almost the entire labor cost, while the material cost was shared in the ratio of 60:40. However, as per VB-GRAM G, the combined cost of labor and material is now subject to a ratio of 60:40, he said.

VB-GRAM G replaces MGNREGA from July 1 | Key details explained

VB-GRAM G replaces MGNREGA from July 1 | Explanation of key details | Video Credit: The Hindu

“If additional work needs to be provided beyond this, the financial burden will fall on the state government,” he said, adding that the burden on the states could exceed 40%.

Published – 01 Jul 2026 22:16 IST