India, Jan. 23 -- The redesign of India's rural employment guarantee under the Viksit Bharat-Gramin Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (VB-G RAM G) marks the most substantial recalibration of the programme since its inception in 2006. While the debate has primarily centred on legacy and symbolism, the reform is better understood as a response to persistent structural weaknesses that had emerged over nearly two decades of implementation: weak planning incentives, fiscal unpredictability, and uneven asset outcomes.

The fiscal scale of the programme itself underscores this context. Since its inception, cumulative expenditure under MGNREGA has approached INR 10 lakh crore, with nearly four-fifths of total spending incurred between FY15 and FY25 al...