The digital identity verification rate for registered workers under the new rural employment scheme, Viksit Bharat Guarantee Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G], is currently at 71% two months after its launch.
Workers who had their digital identities verified under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) can still access jobs under the new scheme. The government assured that existing digital identity-verified job cards would remain valid until new cards are issued, ensuring uninterrupted employment and timely wage payments.
Among active workers—those who have worked at least once in the past three years—the verification rate is much higher at 94.88%. However, this leaves 57 lakh (5.7 million) workers still unverified. The government has made digital identity verification a requirement for accessing jobs under VB-GRAM G but has allowed exceptions in some cases to ensure no eligible worker is left behind.
Comparing employment generation between MGNREGS and VB-GRAM G, the new scheme generated 7.67 crore person-days of work in July 2026, which was nearly half (49.94%) less than MGNREGS’ 15.33 crore person-days in the same month the previous year. A “person-day” measures the amount of work done by one person in a day.
State governments were given deadlines to verify digital identities for all remaining active workers as part of transitioning to VB-GRAM G. However, seven months later, the target remains unmet, raising concerns about delays affecting workers’ access to jobs.
Among states with large MGNREGS workforces, Tamil Nadu has the highest verification rates at 99.32% (active workers) and 84.89% (all registered workers). Other leading states include Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. States like Bihar have lower overall verification rates, particularly for all registered workers.