New Delhi: Only 17.5 million people sought work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), now renamed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G), in April, down nearly 36% from 27.2 million a year ago, according to data from the rural development ministry.
Though rural work demand under the scheme was low during the month, it may reflect a continuation of a trend seen since July 2025, when job demand fell 11-36% year-on-year. It could also indicate implementation challenges arising from the transition to the scheme’s new iteration—VB-G RAM G.
In March, participation fell to 18.4 million, suggesting lower demand at the end of the fiscal year. The moderation coincided with the Rabi harvest season, when farm work increases and workers shift away from the rural job guarantee scheme. Similarly, the declines in July (11.4%), August (25.8%), and September (27.4%) could largely be attributed to increased farm activities following a better monsoon in 2025.
“This is a scheme that follows economic cycles. It does not increase every year; rather, it acts as an automatic stabilizer. This year’s data is not comparable to last year’s because of the new scheme introduced in April. We need to wait for the new dataset to come from the new scheme—VB-G RAM G,” said N.R. Bhanumurthy, director at the Madras School of Economics.
“If the IIP (Index of Industrial Production) growth that happened in March continues in April, that is another explanation that industrial activity is picking up and must be absorbing some jobs,” said Bhanumurthy.
India’s IIP for March 2026 , released on 28 April, recorded a 4.1% on-year growth, driven by manufacturing (4.3%) and mining (5.5%).
A government official, on the condition of anonymity, said that as a demand-driven programme, the experiences variations in demand across months, influenced by seasonal factors and local livelihood opportunities.
“States have been asked to keep an adequate shelf of works ready to meet demand, even as current demand remains subdued,” the official said.
To be sure, an 18 April statement showed the ministry has released ₹17,744.19 crore as the first instalment towards the wage component for 2026-27. “In addition, a further sanction of ₹3,478 crore has been issued so far to various states and UTs under the material and administrative component,” the official added.
Mint‘s emailed queries to the ministry on 30 April remained unanswered.
State-wise demand
The latest data shows that rural job demand remains concentrated in a few large states, even as overall trends indicate some softening.
Among the largest contributors, Andhra Pradesh reported the highest demand in the month at about 4.83 million persons, followed by Telangana with 2.21 million and Rajasthan with 1.18 million, reflecting strong reliance on public works in these states.
Tamil Nadu (1.41 million) and Madhya Pradesh (1.03 million) also recorded significant demand, while Bihar (1.04 million) and Maharashtra (870,000) remained among the major states generating rural employment under the scheme.
In central and eastern India, Chhattisgarh (1.28 million) and Odisha (440,000) showed steady demand, indicating continued dependence on wage employment schemes in tribal and agrarian regions. Jharkhand (208,000) and Assam (410,000) also reported moderate participation.
Southern states such as Karnataka (540,000) and Kerala (460,000) maintained stable demand levels, though significantly lower than Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
In northern states, demand remained relatively subdued, with Uttar Pradesh (470,000), Punjab (227,000) and Haryana (19,000 lakh) reporting lower participation.
Hill and northeastern states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram, reported relatively low numbers, reflecting smaller populations and limited scale of rural works.
Implementation woes
Economists attribute this trend to an increase in economic activity, particularly in and construction-related sectors, which is creating more employment opportunities in urban areas and drawing workers away from rural job schemes.
“The data indicates an uptick in demand in urban areas, suggesting that economic activity is picking up in cities. The creation of employment opportunities in the informal sector has also played a key role in keeping workers away from rural job schemes. As a result, the movement of workers back to rural areas has slowed,” said Rakesh Arrawatia, professor at the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Gujarat, and Dean, School of Cooperative Banking and Finance.
A drop in rural work under the scheme often coincides with labour demand for other economic activities, such as harvesting or construction. Also, any slowdown in manufacturing activity that leads to worker displacement increases demand, as seen during previous periods of economic stress.
Demand for rural jobs rose to 37.8 million persons in April 2021 due to economic disruptions caused by the covid-19 second wave.
However, experts associated with programmes say the slowdown is not just demand-driven but also reflects implementation challenges.
“The slowdown in people seeking rural jobs is largely due to uncertainty around the implementation of the new rural job guarantee scheme and a lack of preparedness at the ground level,” said Nikhil Dey, a founding member of the Rajasthan-based Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, who was closely involved in the campaign for the enactment of the MGNREGS in 2005.
“At the same time, funds under the existing scheme have been tightened, which has pushed workers to look for other opportunities. The job seekers are not being accommodated quickly due to procedural delays, including complexities in creating new job cards and other administrative bottlenecks,” Dey said.