Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced on Tuesday, 23 June 2026 that the state cabinet has approved the draft framework of the 'VB-G Ram Ji Yojana, Chhattisgarh' — a new state-level rural employment scheme that will guarantee eligible rural households a statutory entitlement of 125 days of work per year.

Context

Posting in Hindi on X, CM Sai said the scheme was approved in today's cabinet meeting with the express aim of expanding employment opportunities for labourers in the state's villages. Translated, his post reads: 'Aaj mantriparishad ki baithak mein VB-G Ram Ji Yojana, Chhattisgarh ke praroop ko manjuri di gayi hai' ('Today, the cabinet meeting has approved the draft of the VB-G Ram Ji Yojana, Chhattisgarh'). He added that the scheme would generate sustainable rural employment and lend 'new strength to the rural economy.'

The announcement positions the scheme as a pillar of the BJP government's broader vision of an 'Aatmanirbhar Chhattisgarh' (self-reliant Chhattisgarh), with an emphasis on raising rural household incomes and fostering village-level prosperity.

Policy Backdrop

The new scheme builds directly on the foundation laid by the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), enacted by Parliament in 2005, which provides a statutory guarantee of up to 100 days of unskilled wage employment annually to rural households across India. The VB-G Ram Ji Yojana would extend that floor by 25 additional days, taking the guaranteed employment ceiling to 125 days per year for eligible families in Chhattisgarh.

Several Indian states have previously supplemented MGNREGA with state-funded top-up schemes to address seasonal unemployment gaps, particularly in agrarian and forest-dependent economies. Chhattisgarh, with its large rural and tribal population, has historically relied on agriculture and forest-based livelihoods, making employment guarantees especially significant during lean agricultural seasons.

Since coming to power in December 2023, the BJP government under CM Sai has emphasised rural income support and self-reliance as central planks of its governance agenda, with Gram Panchayat-level asset creation as a stated convergence goal.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the scheme are eligible rural families and village-level wage labourers across Chhattisgarh, a state where a significant share of the workforce depends on seasonal agricultural income. The statutory guarantee of 125 days of employment is designed to provide income security during off-season periods and reduce distress migration from villages to urban centres.

Beyond individual households, the scheme is expected to channel labour toward the creation of durable community assets at the village level — roads, water conservation structures, and other rural infrastructure — thereby strengthening Gram Panchayat economies. The convergence of state funds with existing central MGNREGA mechanisms will be a key implementation variable to watch.

What's Next

The cabinet approval covers the draft framework of the VB-G Ram Ji Yojana; detailed operational guidelines, eligibility norms, budgetary allocations, and convergence mechanisms with MGNREGA are expected to be formalised in subsequent cabinet or assembly sessions. The rollout timeline and per-day wage rates under the scheme have not yet been officially announced.

If operationalised at scale, the scheme could set a precedent for other BJP-governed states with large rural constituencies to introduce similar top-up employment guarantees ahead of the next cycle of state elections, underscoring the political salience of rural welfare commitments in central India.