At a glance
- MGNREGA, 2005 was replaced from 1 July 2026 by the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025; Rajasthan's earlier figures are MGNREGA years.
- The State Finance Commission is the body under Articles 243-I and 243-Y; the first chairman was K. K. Goel.
- The Fifth and Sixth Commissions got a lower share of the State's own net tax revenue than they recommended; the Seventh's interim 7% was accepted in full.
- The current Commission is the Seventh, under Arun Chaturvedi; as of 23 October 2026 only its interim report, for 2025-26, is out, and it carries the Sixth's rules forward.
Rural programmes: who runs what
| Programme | Run by | Aim |
|---|---|---|
| Rajeevika (National Rural Livelihood Mission) | Rajasthan Grameen Aajeevika Vikas Parishad, Rural Development Department | Livelihoods of poor rural families through women's Self-Help Groups |
| MGNREGA, replaced by VB-G RAM G | Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department; Gram Panchayats plan the works | Guaranteed wage employment and rural assets |
| Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin | Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department | Housing assistance to families selected from SECC-2011 data |
| Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) | Panchayati Raj Department | Household toilets and village cleanliness |
| PMKSY 2.0, Watershed Development Component | Watershed Development and Soil Conservation Department; Central and State shares | Soil and water conservation, water harvesting and livelihood works in treated watersheds |
| Mukhyamantri Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan 2.0 | Watershed Development and Soil Conservation Department; State funds only | Rainwater harvesting and water-conservation structures in villages |
MGNREGA and VB-G RAM G
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 stands repealed from 1 July 2026. The Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), passed by Parliament in December 2025, came into force across all rural areas from that date, as announced on 11 May 2026. The Rajasthan figures below are for MGNREGA years; the scheme is also written MGNREGS.
- Guarantee: 125 days of wage employment in every financial year per rural household, up from 100 days under MGNREGA.
- Transition: existing e-KYC-verified job cards stay valid until Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are issued; ongoing MGNREGA works may continue under the new Act.
- Peak seasons: a State may notify in advance a period aggregating 60 days in a financial year, covering sowing and harvesting, when no works are taken up.
- Funding: a Centrally Sponsored Scheme; the Centre makes a normative allocation to each State and spending beyond it falls on the State. Administrative expenditure rises from 6% to 9%.
| MGNREGA, Rajasthan 2024-25 | Expenditure ₹9,441.01 crore; 3,155.57 lakh man-days; 58.86 lakh households employed; 5.11 lakh households completed 100 days |
|---|---|
| MGNREGA, Rajasthan 2025-26 (up to December 2025) | Expenditure ₹4,819.26 crore; 1,554.85 lakh man-days; 42.03 lakh households employed; 46,684 households completed 100 days |
| Chief Minister Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (CMREGS) | Terms in 2025-26: 25 more days after the 100 days, and 50 more days for households in 47 Scheduled Tribe blocks |
Rajeevika: NRLM in Rajasthan
| Body | Rajasthan Grameen Aajeevika Vikas Parishad (RGAVP): autonomous society set up in October 2010 under the Societies Registration Act, 1958 |
|---|---|
| Funding | Centre : State 60 : 40; provision for 2025-26 ₹678.35 crore, ₹337.55 crore spent up to December 2025 |
| SHGs (up to December 2025) | 4.29 lakh Self-Help Groups in 38,452 villages covering 51.01 lakh families; 32,061 Village Organisations and 1,078 Cluster Level Federations |
| Support to SHGs (up to December 2025) | Revolving fund of ₹15,000 per SHG to 3,18,833 SHGs (₹501.19 crore); Community Investment Fund of ₹75,000 per SHG to 2,09,813 SHGs (₹1,614.83 crore); bank loans ₹10,788.96 crore |
| Lakhpati Didi (up to December 2025) | 12.98 lakh women brought into the 'Lakhpati Didi' category |
| Rajasthan Women's Fund (up to December 2025) | ₹735 crore loans to 1,54,861 Rajeevika women at 2.5% a year, the State bearing an 8% interest subsidy |
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin
| Selection | Beneficiaries chosen from SECC-2011 data |
|---|---|
| Help per house | ₹1,20,000, plus ₹12,000 for a toilet under Swachh Bharat Mission; up to 90 days' wages through MGNREGS |
| Cost sharing | Centre : State 60 : 40 |
| 2025-26 (up to December 2025) | Sanctions for 2,18,050 houses against a target of 2,21,135; 1,08,073 new houses built; ₹1,045.61 crore spent |
| PM-JANMAN (Baran) | For houseless Sahariya families in 8 Panchayat Samitis: ₹2 lakh per house, ₹12,000 for a toilet; 22,416 houses approved of 26,671 allotted and 11,411 completed up to December 2025 |
Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)
| ODF status | Rajasthan was declared Open Defecation Free by March 2018 |
|---|---|
| Phase II | Started by the Government of India in 2020-21 to sustain ODF status and make villages ODF Plus through solid and liquid waste management |
| Toilet incentive | ₹12,000 per household toilet; 1.05 lakh built in 2025-26 (up to December 2025) |
| Community Sanitary Complexes | ₹3 lakh each; 2,205 built in 2025-26 (up to December 2025) |
| Other, 2025-26 (up to December 2025) | 414 ODF Plus Model villages; 7 Gobar-Dhan projects (one model project is planned in each district) |
Watershed and water conservation
| PMKSY 2.0, Watershed Development Component | 159 projects sanctioned up to 2025-26 to treat 8.05 lakh hectares in 39 districts, cost ₹1,990.37 crore |
|---|---|
| Mukhyamantri Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan 2.0 | Launched February 2024; water-harvesting and conservation structures to be built in 20,000 villages over four years |
| MJSA 2.0, phase 1 (up to December 2025) | 1,10,059 works completed against a target of 1,14,039; ₹2,289.49 crore spent |
| MJSA 2.0, phase 2 (up to December 2025) | Target 99,930 works; 26,059 sanctioned and 2,880 completed |
Dams, canals and the older water-conservation works are in the irrigation projects notes and the lakes and water conservation notes.
State schemes for rural and backward areas
| Scheme | Area or aim, and start | Figure (2025-26) |
|---|---|---|
| Mewat Area Development Scheme | Mev community: 14 blocks of Alwar, Khairthal-Tijara and Deeg districts, 807 villages; running since 1986-87 | Provision ₹100 crore in 2025-26 |
| Dang Area Development Scheme | Ravine and gorge areas of 8 districts (Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Dholpur, Baran, Jhalawar, Bharatpur, Kota, Bundi), 2,192 villages; re-launched in 2005-06 | Provision ₹100 crore in 2025-26 |
| Magra Area Development Scheme | Hilly south-central area (Beawar, Bhilwara, Pali, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand) outside the Tribal Area Development areas, 1,746 villages; started in 2005-06 | Provision ₹100 crore in 2025-26 |
| Mahatma Gandhi Jan-bhagidari Vikas Yojana | Community assets with public contribution, rural areas only; earlier Guru Golwalkar Jan-bhagidari Vikas Yojana, renamed in February 2020 | Provision ₹20 crore in 2025-26 |
| MLA Local Area Development Scheme (MLALAD) | ₹5 crore a year for each assembly constituency, rural and urban; at least 20% for SC/ST habitations | ₹705.80 crore spent up to December 2025 of ₹2,738.84 crore available |
| Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Jila Utthan Yojana | Launched June 2025; district-specific needs in all districts, rural and urban | ₹500 crore allocated for 2025-26 |
| Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Garibi Mukt Gram Yojana | State-funded, started 2025-26 for 22 lakh BPL families (BPL Census 2002); 5,000 villages, then 5,000, then 10,000 | Surveys of the first two phases complete (December 2025) |
| Chief Minister Thar Border Area Development Programme | State-funded, started 2025-26 for villages along the international border | ₹150 crore allocated; ₹12.67 crore spent up to December 2025 |
Shri Annapurna Rasoi Yojana, whose rural kitchens are run by Rajeevika groups, is in the welfare schemes notes.
Rural development in the 2026-27 budget
Provisions in the Rajasthan budget for 2026-27 (budget estimates, not spending): ₹33,418.86 crore for the Rural Development sector.
- ₹7,000 crore from State funds as grants to PRIs under the State Finance Commission (the urban development sector separately has ₹2,286.02 crore from State funds for urban local bodies under the State Finance Commission); ₹5,585.50 crore grants to PRIs under the Central Finance Commission.
- ₹6,750 crore for VB-G RAM G, including a State share of ₹2,753.12 crore; ₹61 crore for the Mukhyamantri Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
- ₹5,472 crore for PMAY-G (State share ₹2,188.80 crore), with a target of 3 lakh houses.
- ₹679 crore for NRLM (State share ₹271.60 crore); ₹385 crore for SBM-G (State share ₹154 crore), targets 80,000 household toilets and 4,000 community sanitary complexes.
- ₹518 crore for the PMKSY watershed component (State share ₹207.20 crore), target 1.61 lakh hectares.
- ₹600 crore for Mukhyamantri Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan; ₹1,000 crore for MLA Local Area Development; ₹300 crore for Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Jila Utthan Yojana.
- ₹50 crore each for the Magra and Mewat area development programmes.
State Finance Commission: the constitutional rule
Article 243-I requires the Governor to constitute a Finance Commission within one year of the 73rd Amendment and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year, to review the finances of the Panchayats; Article 243-Y makes the same Commission review the Municipalities. It recommends the principles for sharing the net proceeds of State taxes between the State and the local bodies, grants-in-aid and measures to improve their finances, and the Governor lays its recommendations and the action taken before the Legislature (Article 243-I(4)).
The Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad are the bodies whose finances it reviews, not the body that reviews them. Their structure and powers are in the Panchayati Raj and municipal bodies notes.
The seven Rajasthan State Finance Commissions
| Commission | Chair | Award period | Recommended (% of State's own net tax revenue) | Accepted by the State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | K. K. Goel (Goyal in some papers) | 1995-96 to 1999-2000 | 2.18 | 2.18 |
| Second | Hira Lal Devpura | 2000-01 to 2004-05 | 2.25 (including 0.05 as incentive) | 2.25 |
| Third | Manik Chand Surana | 2005-06 to 2009-10 | 3.50 (including 0.50 as incentive) | 3.50 |
| Fourth | Dr. B. D. Kalla | 2010-11 to 2014-15 | 5.0 and assignment of certain taxes | 7.182 |
| Fifth | Dr. Jyoti Kiran | 2015-16 to 2019-20 | 8.5 | 7.182 |
| Sixth | Pradyumn Singh | 2020-25 | 7.25 | 6.75 (2020-21 to 2023-24); 7 (2024-25) |
| Seventh | Arun Chaturvedi | 2025-30; interim report for 2025-26 | 7 (interim) | 7 (2025-26) |
Sixth State Finance Commission (2020-25)
| Constituted | Governor's notifications of 12 April 2021 and 17 May 2021; term one and a half years, later extended to 30 September 2023 |
|---|---|
| Members | Pradyumn Singh (Chairman), Dr. Lakshman Singh Rawat, Dr. Ashok Lahoti; Member Secretary Banna Lal, who died on 13 September 2022, then S. C. Derashri from 7 October 2022 |
| Reports | Interim report submitted 28 June 2021 (for 2020-21 and 2021-22); final report dated 19 September 2023 |
| Main recommendation | 7.25% of the State's own net tax revenue for 2020-25, ₹33,175.12 crore after adjusting the interim funds: ₹24,914.51 crore for PRIs and ₹8,260.61 crore for ULBs |
| PRI : ULB split | 75.1 : 24.9, on Census 2011 rural and urban population |
| Accepted in the Action Taken Report | 6.75% for 2020-21 to 2023-24 and 7% for 2024-25, split 73.2 : 26.8 |
| Form of devolution | Entirely grants; no separate grant-in-aid recommended |
- Districts, for PRI funds: population 40%, area 25%, SC population 5%, ST population 5%, girls' education 5%, deprivation on 7 criteria (SECC-2011) 10%, average own revenue mobilisation 2015-20 10%.
- Among PRI tiers: Zila Parishad 5%, Panchayat Samiti 20%, Gram Panchayat 75%.
- Among ULBs: 70% on population (55%) and area (15%); 20% among Municipalities on population; 10% in proportion to the gap in average per capita own income (2015-20) from the Municipality with the highest.
- Use of grants: PRIs 55% basic civic services and 40% national or State priority schemes; ULBs 75% and 20%; in both, 2% for gender-friendly spaces and 3% as incentive for raising own income.
Seventh State Finance Commission (current)
| Constituted | Governor's notification dated 1 August 2025, for the five years 2025 to 2030 (the Commission's website prints 2025-26 to 2030-31); to report within one and a half years |
|---|---|
| Chairman and Member Secretary | Arun Chaturvedi (Chairman); Naresh Kumar Thakral (Member Secretary) |
| Interim report | Dated 1 September 2025 and presented to the Governor on 2 September 2025, for 2025-26, asked for by the State on 13 August 2025 |
| Recommendation | 7% of the State's net own tax revenue, split PRIs : ULBs 73.2 : 26.8 |
| Amount for 2025-26 | ₹6,997.90 crore on a 2024-25 pre-actual net own tax revenue of ₹99,970.04 crore: ₹5,122.46 crore to PRIs and ₹1,875.44 crore to ULBs; provisional, subject to actual receipts, and releases are to be adjusted against the final report |
| Rules kept from the Sixth | Same 5 : 20 : 75 split among PRI tiers, same district criteria and weights, same 2% for gender-friendly spaces and 3% incentive; Budget Announcements added to the priority-scheme use |
| Accepted | The State accepted each recommendation listed in its Action Taken memorandum of 4 February 2026 (the 7% share and its split, distribution among PRIs and ULBs, 15th Finance Commission grants, interim rules until the final report); funds go out in two instalments |
| Status | The interim recommendations stay in force until the final report; as of 23 October 2026 the Finance Department's SFC page lists only the interim report |
Budget provisions, not Commission amounts: for 2025-26 the budget provided ₹7,000 crore as State Finance Commission grant to PRIs and ₹3,087 crore for the 15th Finance Commission grant (2021-22 to 2025-26), which is shared 5 : 20 : 75 on the Sixth SFC's advice.
Remember: often mixed up
- Two different 75s5 : 20 : 75 is the split among Zila Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and Gram Panchayat · 75.1 : 24.9 is the PRI : ULB split the State accepted for the Fifth SFC and the Sixth SFC recommended; 73.2 : 26.8 is the split in the Sixth SFC's Action Taken Report and the Seventh's interim report
- Recommended or acceptedFifth SFC 8.5% recommended, 7.182% accepted · Sixth SFC 7.25% recommended, 6.75% then 7% accepted · Seventh (interim) 7% recommended and accepted
- Sixth or SeventhPradyumn Singh, final report 19 September 2023, award 2020-25 · Arun Chaturvedi, constituted 1 August 2025, interim report for 2025-26
- Employment lawMGNREGA, 2005, 100 days, repealed 1 July 2026 · VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, 125 days, in force from 1 July 2026
- Area schemesMewat (Mev community, Alwar, Khairthal-Tijara and Deeg, since 1986-87) · Dang (ravines, 8 districts, 2005-06) · Magra (hills of Beawar, Bhilwara, Pali, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, 2005-06)
Test yourself: asked in exams
CET Graduation Level 2022 · Q65
Who was the first Chairperson of the State Finance Commission in Rajasthan?
- (1)K. K. Goyal
- (2)Heeralal Devpura
- (3)M. C. Surana
- (4)S. K. Ghosh
Show answer
✓ (1) K. K. Goyal
See the full paperBSTC 2026 (shift I) · Q87
Which constitutional body has been created to review the financial position of the Panchayats and make recommendations to the Governor under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992?
- (1)Rajasthan State Planning Board
- (2)State Finance Commission
- (3)Panchayat Samiti
- (4)Zila Parishad
Show answer
✓ (2) State Finance Commission
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