The Union Rural Development Ministry on Sunday, August 30, 2026, said that every worker registered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), irrespective of whether e-KYC of their job cards has been completed, has been migrated to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), known as VB-G RAM G.
Pending e-KYC Won't Block Employment
In its statement, the Ministry also underlined that pending e-KYC does not prevent a worker from demanding or receiving employment under the scheme. This clarification came in response to a report by The Hindu on Saturday, August 29, 2026, which flagged that the job cards of 57 lakh active workers had not yet completed the e-KYC process.
The Government's Position on Worker Access
The government emphasised that every worker who has demanded employment has been offered work as per that demand, with around 2.11 crore workers so far having been offered employment under VB-G RAM G. This figure is intended to demonstrate that the transition to the new system hasn't created a practical barrier for workers seeking employment, even for those whose e-KYC verification remains incomplete.
What This Means for States and Union Territories
The Ministry has urged States and Union Territories to expedite the verification process for the remaining workers, even as it maintains that this pending verification shouldn't be treated as a reason to deny anyone access to guaranteed employment under the scheme. This distinction is central to the Ministry's response, framing e-KYC completion as an administrative task that needs to be sped up, rather than a prerequisite that could hold up a worker's actual entitlement to employment.
The clarification effectively addresses the concern raised in the earlier report, that a significant number of active job cards, 57 lakh in total, remained without completed e-KYC verification, potentially raising questions about whether those workers could access employment through the new system. The Ministry's statement is intended to reassure that this migration process hasn't compromised access, while simultaneously pushing for faster verification completion across states.
FAQs
Q1. Has e-KYC been made mandatory for receiving MGNREGA employment?
No, the Union Rural Development Ministry has clarified that pending e-KYC does not prevent a registered worker from demanding or receiving employment under the scheme.
Q2. How many workers have been offered employment under VB-G RAM G so far?
According to the government, around 2.11 crore workers have so far been offered employment under VB-G RAM G, as per demand.
Q3. What concern prompted this clarification from the Ministry?
The clarification followed a report highlighting that job cards of 57 lakh active workers had not yet completed the e-KYC process, raising questions about their access to employment under the new system.