VB-G RAM G: Centre Marks 22 Fodder and Livestock Works

Two Union departments have agreed to turn India's rural employment law on the shortage of cattle feed. The Department of Rural Development, under the Ministry of Rural Development, and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, sent a joint advisory to every State and Union Territory on 5 November 2026. It asks them to build fodder security, grazing land and livestock-supportive infrastructure by pooling effort under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025.

The law behind the move

VB-G RAM G is short for Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin). The Act took effect on 1 July 2026 and promises each rural household 125 days of paid work in a year by statute. It also directs that the work leave behind lasting assets in four thematic areas, among them livelihood infrastructure and the mitigation of extreme weather events. The advisory treats that framework as the vehicle for feeding the country's animals, and takes what the departments call a whole-of-government approach.

22 works picked out of 375

Of the 375 works the Act permits, the two departments have marked 22 as relevant to animals and their feed. The list covers fodder growing by single households and by communities; community fodder resources, pastures, grazing land and silvipasture; fodder banks, silage units and storage; shelters for cattle, goats, pigs and poultry; community milk collection centres; community veterinary health centres; cattle and animal troughs; and Azolla tanks for individual beneficiaries.

What states have been asked to do

Planning stays with the Gram Sabha and with Panchayati Raj Institutions, and fodder work is to be written into Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans. States should lift spending on fodder and livestock works over time to at least 5 per cent of total programme expenditure, and give particular attention to panchayats where more than 30 per cent of people live off livestock. A need-based saturation approach is advised for picking eligible households. The fodder resource plans drawn up by the ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute are to guide district and block planning, and climate-resilient choices such as perennial grasses are encouraged. Statutory safeguards hold: social audit is compulsory, the material component is capped at 40 per cent at district level, beneficiaries are selected under Schedule I, and public disclosure is weekly. States must also prepare full State Action Plans through convergence among the rural development, animal husbandry and agriculture departments, an effort the departments tie to Viksit Bharat @2047.