Worker rolls shrink by 67.6 lakh in first fortnight after MGNREGS transition, finds LibTech

In the fortnight following the transition from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G), the number of registered workers fell from 27 crore to 26.33 crore, a net reduction of 67.6 lakh workers, or 2.5% of the total workforce enrolled under the rural employment programme, according to an analysis by LibTech India, a consortium of academics and activists.

The number of active workers — those who have worked at least once in the last three years under the programme — also fell, from 10.84 crore to 10.57 crore, a decline of about 26.3 lakh workers (2.43%).

On July 1, 2026, the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, (VB G RAM G) 2025, came into force, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005.

‘Dynamic figure’

Rural Development Ministry officials, however, disputed the findings, saying the analysis covered only a short period and did not reflect the continuous verification, updating and renewal of worker and job card records undertaken by States and Union Territories. The number of registered and active workers is a dynamic figure and changes as records are updated, the officials said. The Ministry officials also put the onus on the States, arguing that they have to follow the Standard Operating Procedures prescribed by the Centre for any deletions. They added that no complaints had been received regarding denial of employment due to non-completion of e-KYC or Face Authentication and that about 84,000 Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards covering 1.91 lakh workers had already been issued under the new law.

According to LibTech India, three States — Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and Telangana — accounted for a large portion of the net fall in registered workers and the decline in active workers. Bihar saw 5.98 lakh workers removed from the rolls, Uttar Pradesh 8.06 lakh and Telangana 7.2 lakh.

The group said that although transition guidelines provided that e-KYC-verified MGNREGA Job Cards would remain valid and workers should not be denied employment because of pending e-KYC, there was little clarity on how workers unable to complete e-KYC or facial recognition-based verification would be protected from omission.

“Official transition guidance stated that e-KYC-verified MGNREGA job cards would remain valid until new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards were issued, that workers should not be denied employment merely because e-KYC was pending, and that facilitation would continue. However, the publicly available framework did not explain in comparable operational detail how workers unable to complete e-KYC or FRS would be carried over, how omissions would be identified, or how prompt restoration would work,” said Venkateswarlu Kuruva, researcher at LibTech India.

LibTech described the latest decline as the fourth major reduction in worker numbers in recent years to coincide with a digital compliance measure, following Aadhaar-based payments in 2022-23, mandatory e-KYC in 2025 and facial recognition-based attendance verification in 2026.

“The concern set out here is not opposition to database verification itself, but a recurring operational pattern: each compulsory digital requirement has been followed by a sharp decline in worker counts, with the greatest risk borne by workers facing technical, connectivity, mobility, documentation or frontline-support barriers,” Mr. Kuruva said.

The organisation noted that publicly available data do not indicate why workers were removed, whether they had pending e-KYC or facial recognition verification, whether prior notice was issued, whether Gram Sabha verification was conducted or whether an appeal mechanism was available. It also does not reveal the gender, age or caste profile of those affected.

A senior Rural Development Ministry official said that since the operationalisation of VB-G RAM G, 76.71 lakh workers who demanded employment had been provided work.