Critically evaluate whether comparing persondays data across differently-structured schemes (MGNREGS vs VB-G RAM G) is methodologically sound, citing state-specific anomalies such as West Bengal.

Persondays — the aggregate days of wage work generated — was MGNREGA's headline performance metric. Using it to judge the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, in force from 01 July 2026 [2], is defensible in unit but questionable in method, since the two statutes generate that number through different mechanisms.

Where the comparison is legitimate

• The unit is identical and the schemes are sequential, not parallel: MGNREGA, 2005 stands repealed and VB-G RAM G covers the same rural households through the same delivery machinery [1][3].
• The magnitude exceeds plausible noise — July–August 2026 recorded 20.21 crore persondays against 29.78 crore in 2025, a 32.13% fall [5]. A gap this wide cannot be dismissed as measurement error.

Where the method breaks down

• Different generating process: MGNREGA persondays responded to registered worker demand; VB-G RAM G fixes a Centre-determined normative allocation, with states bearing expenditure above it [3]. Low persondays may now indicate a binding fiscal ceiling rather than weak demand or poor administration.
• Designed supply suppression: the statutory 60-day agricultural pause notified by states removes work during peak sowing and harvesting [1], producing a level shift unrelated to performance.
• Transition artefacts: a single-step pan-India rollout involved fresh work plans and re-verification of workers [2], depressing the first months mechanically.

State-specific anomalies

• West Bengal recorded zero persondays in the 2025 base year after the Centre froze disbursements from 09 March 2022 [5]. The comparator is therefore understated — the true national decline is steeper than reported, and the base is not a clean counterfactual.
• Month selection compounds this: August 2025's base was already seasonally low, so August 2026's narrower 9.01% gap flatters the new scheme [5].

The comparison is thus indicative but not conclusive. A methodologically sound assessment requires publishing work applied for versus work provided, pause-adjusted and state-disaggregated, alongside settlement of pending West Bengal dues to restore a comparable series. Only such transparency can make the 125-day guarantee a meaningful advance on Article 41's promise of the right to work.