UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Centre Unveils ₹1.25 Lakh Crore Rural Development Push; New Framework to Roll Out from July 1

Q1. With reference to the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB–G RAM G] Act, 2025 as compared with the erstwhile Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. The guaranteed days of unskilled manual wage employment per rural household per financial year has been raised from 100 to 125 days.
2. With the commencement of the new Act on 1 July 2026, the MGNREGA, 2005 stands repealed from the same date.
3. Unlike MGNREGA, the new Act dispenses with the statutory provision for payment of unemployment allowance to households denied work.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1 and 2 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. In the context of the Viksit Bharat – G RAM G Act, 2025, what is meant by the 'aggregated 60-day no-work period' referred to in the wage-employment framework?

• A. The minimum number of person-days that a rural household must complete before it becomes eligible to claim unemployment allowance under the Act.
• B. The cumulative period in a financial year, coinciding with peak sowing and harvesting seasons, during which wage employment under the Act is not provided so as to keep agricultural labour available to farmers.
• C. The outer time-limit within which wages earned by a worker must be credited through Direct Benefit Transfer to his bank or post-office account.
• D. The transition window after 1 July 2026 within which ongoing works sanctioned under MGNREGA, 2005 are carried over and completed under the new Act.

Q3. With reference to the differences between the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 and the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB–G RAM G] Act, 2025, consider the following statements: 1. The statutory guarantee of unskilled manual wage employment per rural household in a financial year has been raised from 100 days under MGNREGA to 125 days under the VB–G RAM G Act. 2. Unlike MGNREGA, the VB–G RAM G Act does away with the requirement of social audits by the Gram Sabha. 3. Under the VB–G RAM G Act, wages are payable to workers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) within fifteen days from the closure of the muster roll. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. The statutory guarantee of unskilled manual wage employment per rural household in a financial year has been raised from 100 days under MGNREGA to 125 days under the VB–G RAM G Act.
2. Unlike MGNREGA, the VB–G RAM G Act does away with the requirement of social audits by the Gram Sabha.
3. Under the VB–G RAM G Act, wages are payable to workers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) within fifteen days from the closure of the muster roll.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1 and 3 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. With reference to the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB–G RAM G] Act, 2025, which commenced on 1 July 2026, the nodal Union Ministry responsible for its implementation, including the preparation of Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs), is the:

• A. Ministry of Panchayati Raj
• B. Ministry of Rural Development
• C. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
• D. Ministry of Labour and Employment

Q5. In the Union Budget for FY 2026-27, which one of the following has received the highest-ever Central allocation at the Budget Estimate stage for any rural employment programme in India?

• A. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G)
• B. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
• C. Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB–G RAM G]
• D. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)

Q6. Under Section 22 of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, how many distinct categories of Centre-State / Centre-UT fund-sharing patterns are prescribed for implementing the Scheme as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme?

• A. Two
• B. Three
• C. Four
• D. Five

Q7. With reference to how the welfare-technology architecture under the Viksit Bharat – G RAM G Act, 2025 differs from the arrangement that prevailed under MGNREGA, 2005, consider the following statements: 1. Under the VB–G RAM G framework, worksite attendance is to be captured through NMMS-enabled systems and face-authentication-based mechanisms, whereas in the initial years of MGNREGA attendance was recorded through manual muster rolls. 2. Unlike MGNREGA, the new Act dispenses with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and instead mandates cash wage payments at the Gram Panchayat office. 3. Existing e-KYC verified MGNREGA Job Cards shall remain valid under VB–G RAM G until new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are issued, and a worker cannot be denied employment merely because e-KYC is pending. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. Under the VB–G RAM G framework, worksite attendance is to be captured through NMMS-enabled systems and face-authentication-based mechanisms, whereas in the initial years of MGNREGA attendance was recorded through manual muster rolls.
2. Unlike MGNREGA, the new Act dispenses with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and instead mandates cash wage payments at the Gram Panchayat office.
3. Existing e-KYC verified MGNREGA Job Cards shall remain valid under VB–G RAM G until new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are issued, and a worker cannot be denied employment merely because e-KYC is pending.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1 and 3 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, which one of the following has been designated as the principal authority for planning and implementation of the Scheme at the village level, mandated to execute at least fifty per cent of the works in terms of cost?

• A. District Rural Development Agency
• B. Block Programme Officer
• C. Gram Panchayat
• D. State Employment Guarantee Council

Q9. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), aimed at providing all-weather road connectivity to unconnected rural habitations, is implemented at the central level by which one of the following ministries?

• A. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
• B. Ministry of Rural Development
• C. Ministry of Panchayati Raj
• D. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

Q10. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), under which each Member of Parliament is solely responsible for developing identified Gram Panchayats through convergence of existing schemes without any additional fund allocation, was launched in which year?

• A. 2010
• B. 2012
• C. 2014
• D. 2016

Q11. How many 'Amrit Pillars' form the focus of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra under the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision?

• A. Three
• B. Four
• C. Five
• D. Six

Q12. The approach paper titled 'Vision for Viksit Bharat @2047' that outlines the strategic direction for India's developed-nation status has been prepared under the aegis of which one of the following?

• A. Ministry of Finance
• B. Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
• C. NITI Aayog
• D. Cabinet Secretariat

Q13. Consider the following statements regarding the social audit and accountability framework under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005: 1. Section 17 of the Act mandates the Gram Sabha to conduct regular social audits of all works taken up under the Scheme within the Gram Panchayat. 2. The Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Audit of Schemes Rules, 2011 were framed by the Central Government in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. 3. The Social Audit Unit (SAU) of a State is required to be functionally and financially independent of the implementing agency of the Scheme. 4. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is statutorily empowered to directly conduct the six-monthly social audit at every Gram Panchayat. Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. Section 17 of the Act mandates the Gram Sabha to conduct regular social audits of all works taken up under the Scheme within the Gram Panchayat.
2. The Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Audit of Schemes Rules, 2011 were framed by the Central Government in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
3. The Social Audit Unit (SAU) of a State is required to be functionally and financially independent of the implementing agency of the Scheme.
4. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is statutorily empowered to directly conduct the six-monthly social audit at every Gram Panchayat.

• A. 1, 2 and 3 only
• B. 1, 3 and 4 only
• C. 2 and 4 only
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4