What happened
MGNREGA — India's rights-based rural employment law — is being replaced by the 'Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen)' from July 1. The new scheme promises 125 days of employment per rural household, up from 100 under MGNREGA. It is called a Guarantee. The Centre has allocated Rs 95,692 crore nationally, which civil society analysts calculate will fund approximately 52 days per active job card across all states. In Haryana, the shortfall is more dramatic: the state receives Rs 590 crore in central funds — enough to cover 13.78 person-days per job card, or 11 percent of the 125-day promise. Delivering the full guarantee would require an additional Rs 5,353 crore that Haryana must independently arrange. The state's total burden under VBGRAMG works out to 89 percent of actual costs. Unlike MGNREGA, which was demand-driven and legally entitled workers to unemployment wages if work wasn't provided within 15 days, the new scheme is allocation-based — meaning when the allocation runs out, the guarantee is considered met.