57 lakh active workers await e-KYC under VB GRAM G

The e-KYC verification rate of registered workers stood at 71% two months after the launch of the new rural employment scheme, the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G].

The government earlier said that workers who got e-KYC verified under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) would be eligible to avail of work under the new scheme.

On the eve of the nationwide rollout of VB-G RAM G, Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had given an assurance that “existing e-KYC-verified job cards will remain valid until the issuance of the new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards, ensuring uninterrupted access to employment and timely payment of wages”.

Meanwhile, the e-KYC verification rate of active workers — those who availed of work at least once in the last three years — is much higher at 94.88%. However, this still leaves 57 lakh workers unverified.

The Ministry has allowed exceptions in a few cases where job cards have not been e-KYC-verified and has reiterated that no eligible worker will be left behind, while simultaneously making e-KYC verification a condition for availing of work under VB-GRAM G.

The number of active workers left behind is also significant when viewed against comparative employment generation under MGNREGS and VB-G RAM G in July. Official data (as of August 9, 2026) show that only 7.67 crore person-days were generated under the VB-GRAM G scheme in July 2026, which was 49.94% lower than the 15.33 crore person-days generated under MGNREGS in the same month last year. A person-day is a unit of measurement based on the amount of work done by one person in a working day.

Missed deadlines

At a meeting on January 30, the Rural Development Ministry asked States to complete e-KYC verification of all remaining active workers within a week as part of the transition to the new VB-G RAM G system, an RTI application filed by Chakradhar Buddha of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) revealed.

On February 12, States were again asked to complete e-KYC verification of active workers, this time by the end of February. Nearly seven months later, the latest figures show that the target was not met.

Implementation gaps

With e-KYC still pending for a section of active workers, and for a much larger section of all registered workers, the delay raises questions about whether workers could face difficulties accessing work because of the gap between the Ministry’s deadlines and the pace of implementation on the ground.

Among the four States with the largest MGNREGS workforces, Tamil Nadu has the highest e-KYC rate in both categories, with 99.32% among active workers and 84.89% among all registered workers. Rajasthan follows at 95.66% and 69.45%, Uttar Pradesh at 94.21% and 58.89%, and Andhra Pradesh at 90.4% and 82.32%.

West Bengal reported e-KYC rates of 97.3% among active workers and 85.49% among all registered workers. Bihar reported 89.19% among active workers and 58.05% among all registered workers, among the lowest rates for the latter category among large States.