Households demanding work under the newly launched VB G RAM G or Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen), which replaced MGNREGA from July 1 continued to be robust for the second month running in September 2026, clocking a growth of almost 34 per cent at 15.64 million as compared to the same month last year.

This is also significantly higher (almost 26.1 per cent) than the 12.4 million households that demanded work under the scheme in August 2026.

Some experts said a sharp escalation in work demand under the scheme in September could also be due to an uneven monsoon which has led to a drop in agricultural activities in the western and southern parts of the country particularly in states such as Maharashtra and Karnataka.