Current Affairs 03 July 2026

VB-G RAM G Act, 2025: Rural Employment Guarantee Reform

The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G) came into force across rural India from 1 July 2026, replacing the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. The framework was formally launched at a national event in Andhra Pradesh, with the Union government notifying an interim allocation of over ₹95,600 crore to states and union territories to ensure an uninterrupted transition.

• India’s rural employment initiatives evolved from the Rural Manpower Programme (1960s) and the Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (1971) to the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (1993) and the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (1999).
• The Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, 1977 first introduced a statutory right to work, laying the foundation for MGNREGA, 2005.
• VB-G RAM G, 2025 places Gram Panchayats at the centre of rural transformation, prioritising durable asset creation, natural resource management, water conservation and women’s empowerment through Self Help Groups.

• Guaranteed wage employment raised from 100 to 125 days per eligible household per financial year.
• A 60-day aggregated pause during peak sowing and harvesting seasons safeguards agricultural labour supply; the 125 guaranteed days fall within the remaining 305 days.
• A nationwide minimum wage floor of ₹300 per day has been introduced for the first time under this programme.
• Wages must be disbursed weekly, or within a strict ceiling of a fortnight (14 days).
• New Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are being issued; existing e-KYC-verified job cards remain valid through the transition period.
• Funding shifts from MGNREGA’s 100% central wage coverage to a 60:40 (Centre:State) split for normal states — 90:10 for Northeastern/Himalayan states and Union Territories with a legislature, and 100% Centre-funded for UTs without a legislature.
• A “top-down” normative allocation replaces the earlier demand-driven funding model, with state-wise expenditure ceilings based on the 16th Finance Commission’s horizontal devolution recommendations.
• Employment generation is integrated with four strategic verticals: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and climate-resilience works.
• Local planning through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans is spatially integrated with PM Gati Shakti, and every asset created is mapped onto the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack.

• Fragmented and scattered asset creation limited durable rural infrastructure.
• The demand-driven model sometimes reduced agricultural labour availability during peak seasons.
• Fund-release delays and administrative bottlenecks caused late wage payments.
• Leakages such as ghost beneficiaries, fake muster rolls and poor-quality assets affected implementation.
• The open-ended, demand-driven funding model led to fiscal unpredictability and pending dues.

• The new 60:40 funding pattern is projected to raise states’ financial burden by up to six times, raising cooperative-federalism concerns.
• Normative allocation tied to the 16th Finance Commission’s devolution formula may disadvantage states with stronger demographic performance; any spending beyond the Centre’s ceiling must be borne entirely by the state.
• Critics argue the shift from a demand-driven model to pre-approved budget ceilings weakens the legal “right to work” and the bargaining power of rural labour.
• A mandatory 60-day work suspension during sowing/harvesting may hurt income security during droughts or irregular monsoons.
• Greater Union control over planning and finances may weaken Gram Sabha autonomy under the spirit of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment; centralised grievance and audit mechanisms may reduce local accountability.
• The ₹300 wage floor triggered wage hikes above 15% in northern and northeastern states (e.g. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam) but minimal change (under 3%) in southern states already paying above the floor; Sikkim retains a special panchayat-level rate of ₹450.
• Over ₹17,000 crore in pending MGNREGA dues remains unresolved, raising questions about implementing the new Act before clearing past liabilities.

• Adopt a graded transition and a fiscal-compensation or devolution-bonus mechanism to prevent a north-south funding asymmetry; Tamil Nadu has proposed retaining full central funding for wages/administration while sharing material costs in a 75:25 Centre-State ratio.
• Decentralise the “blackout” period to Gram Sabhas and District Collectors so it can reflect local agro-climatic variation and be lifted during localised droughts or crop failures.
• Establish a National Contingency Buffer Fund to trigger demand-driven funding automatically during economic shocks or climate disasters.
• Legally permit offline authentication (manual muster rolls, Panchayat verification) where digital or biometric systems fail, to prevent wage denial.
• Strengthen Gram Panchayats’ financial autonomy over local asset planning and codify an independent social audit mechanism.

India’s Historic Climb in the 2026 UN SDG Index

India recorded its highest-ever position in the 2026 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index, released at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). India climbed to 94th among 167 countries with an overall score of 68.3 out of 100 — its strongest performance since the SDGs were adopted in 2015 — even as the report flags hunger as one of the country’s most serious unresolved challenges.

• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comprise 17 global goals adopted by UN member states in 2015, with a target completion year of 2030.
• The annual Sustainable Development Report (SDG Index) is published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
• India has risen 18 places since 2015 (112th → 94th in 2026) — among the largest improvements of any major economy, alongside China’s 14-place rise.
• India continues to trail four South Asian neighbours — Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka — in the overall rankings.

• India faces challenges on 13 of the 17 SDGs; major challenges persist on seven — SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
• Significant challenges remain on six more goals — SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 8 (Decent Work), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
• Only about a third (33.3%) of India’s targets are on track to be met by 2030; progress is limited on 42.7% of targets, while 24% have moved in the wrong direction.

• Cereal yield is the only on-track SDG 2 indicator for India, reaching 3.6 tonnes per hectare in 2023.
• Stunting among under-five children fell from 37.9% (2015) to 29.3% per NFHS-6, though nearly one in three children remain affected.
• Child wasting worsened — from 16.9% (2017) to 19% per NFHS-6; India records the highest wasting prevalence in the world per the UN FAO food security report.
• Undernourishment reversed course, rising from 10.5% (2018) back up to 12% (2023).
• Adult obesity nearly doubled — from 4.91% (2015) to 7.27%, marking a reversing trend on this indicator.

• SDG 3: Air-pollution-linked deaths rose marginally to 132 per 100,000 population in 2023; mortality from heart disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease among the 30–70 age group rose from 22.6% (2015) to 23.6% (2021).
• SDG 13: Per-capita CO₂ emissions from fossil-fuel combustion and cement rose from 1.69 tonnes (2015) to 2.21 tonnes (2023), the highest level since SDG adoption.
• SDG 16: India’s Press Freedom Index score fell sharply, from 59.51 (2015) to 31.96 (2026) — its worst-performing indicator under this goal.

• No SDG is currently on track to be achieved globally by 2030.
• Cities (SDG 11), oceans (SDG 14), land ecosystems (SDG 15) and peace/institutions (SDG 16) remain the furthest off track worldwide.
• Globally, hunger-related and governance-related indicators (obesity, sustainable agriculture, the Press Freedom Index, the Corruption Perceptions Index) lag the most — mirroring India’s own weak spots.
• India has made notable progress in expanding electricity access (SDG 7) and mobile broadband/internet penetration (SDG 9), both areas that are also progressing globally.

16th India-Japan Annual Summit & the UNICORN Mast Defence Pact

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi on 2 July 2026, during which the two countries signed their first-ever defence co-development pact — for the UNICORN naval radio antenna mast — along with agreements on artificial intelligence, critical technology, health and energy cooperation.

• Both sides agreed to prepare a roadmap for economic security cooperation and issued a joint statement on artificial intelligence, with Indian AI-ecosystem institutions signing agreements with Japanese counterparts.
• Japan announced an investment of 10 trillion yen in India over the next decade, alongside plans to double the number of Japanese companies operating in the country.
• Agreements were signed in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biotechnology aimed at strengthening global health security.
• An India-Japan bio-gas initiative was announced to set up 1,000 bio-gas and organic-fertiliser plants in India.

• The project follows a 2024 Memorandum of Implementation signed in Tokyo for co-developing the UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) Mast for future Indian Navy warships.
• India becomes only the second Asian country, after the Philippines, to receive this category of Japanese defence technology.
• UNICORN integrates multiple communication systems and scattered antennas into a single unified radar mast, reducing a warship’s radar cross-section and improving stealth and tactical-evasion capability.
• It is also known as Nora-50 and is regarded as one of the highest-grade weapon-antenna systems in the world.
• Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) will manufacture the mast domestically in collaboration with Japanese partners — Japan contributing design expertise, India handling system integration and production — supporting the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
• The mast is expected to progressively replace the Indian Navy’s existing Advanced Composite Communication System (ACCS)-based external communication infrastructure.

• Deepens bilateral strategic trust and enhances India’s maritime domain awareness.
• Reinforces both nations’ shared commitment to a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific.

Kisan Sarathi: India’s Digital Agro-Advisory Platform

With Kisan Sarathi now serving 2.95 crore registered farmers across 36 States and Union Territories, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare have highlighted the platform’s role as India’s largest integrated digital agro-advisory system, built on the Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS) for two-way farmer-expert communication.

• Launched in July 2021; implemented jointly by the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute and the Digital India Corporation.
• Connects farmers with 730+ Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), 100+ ICAR institutes and 65+ agricultural universities.
• Integrates key national digital platforms — Kisan Call Centre, Common Service Centre, India Meteorological Department, MyScheme and BHASHINI — on a single interface.
• Accessible via Kisan Call Centres, Common Service Centres, a web portal, WhatsApp and a mobile app, to accommodate varying levels of digital access.

• Provides region-specific advisories on weather, market prices and crop, livestock and fisheries management.
• Helps farmers discover and track eligibility and status for government schemes, including PM-KISAN; as of 25 June 2026, 610 schemes (102 central) are listed on the platform.
• Enables direct queries to KVK experts in local languages, and access to training sessions and video consultations.
• Provides district-wise mandi prices and market-trend information.

• The Interactive Information Dissemination System enables two-way communication — voice, video, text and image — between farmers and experts, and follows a “Know Your Farmer” approach to tailor advisories.
• Farmer queries are centrally routed to relevant experts, with query history retained for future reference and a shared knowledge database accessible to experts.

• As of 25 June 2026: active in 36 States/UTs, 768 districts and 6.63 lakh villages.
• Network of 4,767 ICAR scientists across 113 ICAR institutes.
• 2.95 crore registered farmers, including 56.16 lakh women beneficiaries.
• 19.21 lakh queries handled; 21,900 advisories released, covering 351 commodities across 34 States/UTs.

• Research institutions gain wider dissemination and practical application of their findings.
• KVKs and agricultural experts achieve faster outreach and improved technology transfer from lab to field.
• Policymakers gain access to real-time dashboards and analytics for evidence-based planning.

Vikram-1: India’s First Private Orbital Rocket Gears Up for Launch

Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based private space company, announced that the launch window for Vikram-1 — India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket — opens between 12 July and 4 August 2026, under Test Flight-1 (Mission Aagaman), to be conducted from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, subject to weather, safety and range clearance.

West Bengal’s First Budget: Welfare Promises vs Fiscal Constraints

West Bengal’s newly elected BJP government presented its first state Budget on 22 June 2026, seeking to balance pre-poll welfare commitments — including a revamped women’s cash-transfer scheme and a Dearness Allowance hike for state employees — against a stated goal of narrowing the fiscal and revenue deficit.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta present the state Budget in the Legislative Assembly, Kolkata.