Bengaluru, 14 October

A record 2.04 crore person-days of employment have been generated in the state under the VB-G RAM G rural employment guarantee scheme from 1 July to 13 October this year, Karnataka Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Wednesday.

Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), which replaced Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), was implemented in the state from 1 July.

Raichur district in the Kalyana Karnataka region topped the State by generating 24 lakh person-days of employment, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister said.

Compared with the previous year, employment generation increased by 340 per cent in Vijayanagara district, 257 per cent in Kalaburagi, 207 per cent in Koppal, 175 per cent in Ballari and 173 per cent in Bidar, Khandre added.

The State has taken steps to conduct e-KYC verification of job cards issued under MGNREGA and a total of 87,164 new job cards have been issued this year, he added.

Under the VB-G RAM G scheme, each family is eligible for up to 125 days of employment a year, with a wage of Rs 382 per day for both men and women.