Rural Jobs
India’s construction labour shortage: Builders must ask themselves some hard questions
Construction companies blame welfare schemes and handouts for depriving them of labour. But that’s the wrong way to look at it. What they should ask is whether so-called ‘unskilled’ workers are paid reasonable wages for the gruelling work they do.
4 min read1 Apr 2026MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G: The overhaul of India’s rural job guarantee needs field trials before its full rollout
The budget slashed MGNREGA funding in preparation of a switch to the new VB-G RAM G scheme, which has been allotted much more money. Given the latter’s key changes, notably its harvest-season pause, it should undergo phased trials before it’s fully rolled out.
4 min read5 Feb 2026New job guarantee scheme aims to fix design gaps in MGNREGA, shift focus to outcomes: SBI Research
However, other experts cautioned against moving too far away from the demand-driven ethos of MGNREGA, saying this could lead to more exclusion rather than better outcomes.
6 min read29 Dec 2025Mint Quick Edit | Uphold India’s rural job scheme’s core promise: Drop the idea of a 60-day calendar gap
India’s rural job guarantee has been rejigged for relaunch, but its core attribute of universality seems at risk. How our safety net evolves as the economy expands should ideally be guided by a national consensus.
1 min read22 Dec 2025From North to South, how revisions in MGNREGS will burden states
The proposed revisions in the rural employment guarantee scheme place a greater financial onus on states. Their burden is expected to rise threefold.
4 min read20 Dec 2025Mint Explainer: Why is the government looking to replace India’s rural job guarantee scheme?
A bill that was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday seeks to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 and the massive job guarantee scheme named after it.
6 min read19 Dec 2025Rural jobs guarantee revamp: More days of work, greater burden for states?
The VB G RAM G Bill proposes a rural jobs guarantee of 125 days of employment, replacing MGNREGA. The bill requires states to prepare implementation plans and is facing criticism for shifting financial burdens to states while altering the demand-driven nature of the employment guarantee.
4 min read16 Dec 2025Seasonal fall in demand for work under rural jobs scheme much sharper Jun-Oct this year
MGNREGA participation fell nearly two-thirds from June to October, with 12.8 million workers recorded at the latest. States like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar showed major decreases. The decline is linked to seasonal agricultural work and potentially recovering urban migration post-covid, an expert said.
2 min read9 Nov 2025Rural job demand falls sharply as monsoon pulls workers back to farms
MGNREGA work requests hit a 10-month low in July as farm activity surged, though job demand remains high in key states amid uneven recovery and inflation concerns.
3 min read6 Aug 2025Unemployment rate climbs to 5.6% in May as rural farm jobs decline post harvest
The end of the Rabi harvest and rising summer temperatures triggered a seasonal drop in rural employment, particularly in agriculture, driving more people out of the labour force, especially women.
2 min read16 Jun 2025