PIB Tracker22 fodder works identified under VB-G RAM G advisory
The Departments of Rural Development and Animal Husbandry and Dairying have advised States to use 22 of the 375 permissible works under the VB-G RAM G Act for fodder and livestock infrastructure, aiming at 5% of expenditure.
What happened
- The Department of Rural Development and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying issued a joint advisory to all States and UTs on fodder security, pasture development and livestock infrastructure.
- The advisory identifies 22 works from the 375 permissible works under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, in force from 1 July 2026 with a guarantee of 125 days of wage employment.
- Works include fodder cultivation, community pastures and silvipasture, fodder banks and silage units, livestock shelters, milk collection centres, veterinary health centres, troughs and Azolla tanks.
- States are encouraged to move towards spending at least 5% of programme expenditure on these works, with attention to Gram Panchayats where over 30% of people depend on livestock.
- Planning must run through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans approved by the Gram Sabha, with a compulsory social audit, a 40% material-component ceiling and State Action Plans built by convergence of Rural Development, Animal Husbandry and Agriculture.
For Prelims
- VB-G RAM G Act, 2025: the rural employment framework that follows MGNREGA, guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment per household against 100 days under MGNREGA; PIB 2237668 covers the transition.
- Permissible works: 375 works notified in October 2026 under four pillars, Water Security (128), Core Rural Infrastructure (111), Livelihood-related Infrastructure (98) and Disaster Preparedness (38), up 41% from 266 works (PIB 2319426).
- Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan (VGPP): the bottom-up plan, approved by the Gram Sabha, from which every work originates; works are tracked through the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack (PIB 2319426).
- Panchayats and animal husbandry: Article 243G lets States give Panchayats powers over subjects in the Eleventh Schedule, which lists animal husbandry, dairying and poultry at item 4.
- Seventh Schedule: agriculture and the preservation and improvement of stock are State List subjects (Entries 14 and 15), which is why the Centre issues an advisory and States decide.
- ICAR-IGFRI: the Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute at Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
- Silvipasture and silage: silvipasture combines trees with pasture on the same land; silage is green fodder preserved by fermentation; Azolla is a floating fern grown in tanks as protein-rich feed.
- Fodder policy: the National Livestock Mission, begun in 2014-15, has a sub-mission on fodder and feed development; Article 48 directs the State to organise animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines.
For UPSC: DoRD-DAHD advisory under VB-G RAM G Act, 2025: 22 of 375 works for fodder; at least 5% of expenditure; 40% material ceiling; Act in force 1 July 2026.
What it is NOT: The release does not give current spending on fodder under the Act, State-wise fodder deficits, or an estimate of households and animals to be covered. The 5% figure is a target States are asked to work towards, not a requirement, and no incentive or penalty is stated. It does not say how the 40% material ceiling fits costly items such as silage units and sheds, how the advisory fits with DAHD's own schemes, or how land for community pastures will be protected from encroachment.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS2.10 · GS3.4 · Linkage L1
Anchor
Rural wage schemes have built ponds and roads; livestock, which supports small and landless households, has had far less. Fodder shortage raises feed costs and cuts incomes, so linking wage work to fodder is a direct livelihood measure.
Substantiation (data)
The advisory picks 22 of 375 permissible works, asks States to head for at least 5% of expenditure, gives attention to Gram Panchayats with over 30% livestock-dependent people, and keeps the district material component at 40%.
Position
Using works already on the permitted list avoids a new scheme, turns labour days into fodder banks, pastures and sheds, and brings two departments to plan together at the Gram Panchayat level.
Counterpoint
An advisory binds no one. The 5% aim is soft, village pasture land is often encroached, and without State data on fodder deficits it is hard to say which Panchayats need the works most.
Way forward
Map fodder deficits by district with ICAR-IGFRI, publish State-wise spending on these 22 works, protect common pastures in revenue records, and test the plan first in a few livestock-dense districts.
Conclusion
The advisory puts fodder inside a statutory wage guarantee. Its value lies in whether Gram Sabhas actually choose these works.
Deploys into: Rural employment and asset creation · Livestock and dairy livelihoods · Panchayati Raj-led planning · Convergence between departments
Ministry of Rural Development · 2026-11-05 · PRID 2332844 · PIB source ↗