New Delhi, June 19: The Ministry of Rural Development will deploy more than 100 Area Officers across the country to support States and Union Territories in the rollout of the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025, which is scheduled to come into force on July 1.
The officers will serve as facilitators and resource persons during the implementation phase, working with State Governments and district administrations to strengthen local capacities, address operational challenges, promote best practices and support the smooth operationalisation of the new framework.
The announcement comes as the Centre steps up preparations for the nationwide rollout of the legislation, which seeks to transform rural employment into a driver of sustainable and inclusive rural development by integrating guaranteed wage employment with livelihood promotion, climate resilience, rural infrastructure creation and technology-enabled governance.
According to the Ministry, the Area Officers will interact with State Governments, district administrations and field-level functionaries to assess implementation requirements, facilitate the exchange of experiences and good practices, support capacity-building efforts and help resolve operational issues. Their deployment is aimed at strengthening coordination among stakeholders during the transition to the new system.
To prepare the officers for their role, the Department of Rural Development organised an orientation programme on the key features of the Act, implementation mechanisms, institutional arrangements, technology-enabled governance systems and support structures available to States and districts. The programme was chaired by Rural Development Secretary Rohit Kansal, while Joint Secretary Rohini R. Bhajibhakare conducted the orientation.
The Ministry said extensive preparatory measures have already been undertaken to ensure readiness before the Act comes into force. These include the approval of an interim allocation of ₹95,692 crore for the 2026-27 financial year, onboarding of all States and Union Territories onto the DBT-SPARSH platform, completion of e-KYC for nearly 93 per cent of active workers and nationwide rollout of the Face Authentication-based Attendance System.
The government has also developed dedicated digital platforms and undertaken large-scale capacity-building initiatives to facilitate implementation.
Reflecting the progress made so far, 27 States and Union Territories have already made budgetary provisions for implementation of the Act, while six States and UTs have notified their schemes under the VB-G RAM G framework. The remaining States and UTs are in advanced stages of finalising their schemes.
The Ministry said the Area Officer initiative would provide continuous institutional support to States and UTs and help ensure a smooth and effective transition to the new rural employment framework.
