# Rural jobs scheme app gets AI checks, liveness detection to stop fake attendance

URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-24/nmms-ai-attendance-vb-g-ram-g/
Date: 24 October 2026 (2026-10-24)
Source: The Hindu, Page 9
UPSC papers: GS2, GS3
Publisher: upsc.help (Pratidin), free and open-source UPSC Civil Services current affairs. Not affiliated with UPSC. Every fact was checked against the source reports by a separate review before publishing.

**In one line:** On 23 October 2026, the Centre upgraded the attendance app of its rural jobs scheme with liveness detection, anti-cloning safeguards and AI photo checks, after face authentication alone failed to stop fake attendance.

Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched an upgraded version of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app in New Delhi on 23 October 2026, to verify worker attendance under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, the rural employment scheme that replaced MGNREGA from 1 July 2026. Face authentication was added to the app in March 2026 to curb fake attendance, but field checks still found photographs of photographs being uploaded instead of live images, mismatches in worker counts and gender composition, and the same pictures repeated across muster rolls.

The upgrade adds liveness detection, to confirm that a real worker is in front of the camera and not a printed or old photo; anti-cloning and anti-tampering safeguards against altered or duplicate apps; device-level checks; and AI face verification refined for differences across States and regions. An AI photo de-duplication module flags repeated or suspicious photos and automatically withholds the wage list and Fund Transfer Order until checks are done. Attendance can now be marked offline where there is no network, and an authorised exception mechanism covers elderly workers, persons with disabilities and technical failures. Recording attendance does not by itself trigger payment: wages also depend on the electronic measurement book, Direct Benefit Transfer, spot inspections and social audits.

Since 1 July 2026, the scheme has generated nearly 46 crore person-days, of which about 40 crore were recorded through face authentication, across 31.23 lakh worksites, employing more than 3.65 crore workers from 2.89 crore households. Nine States reported 100% face-authenticated attendance. The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 guarantees 125 days of work a year per rural household, up from 100 under MGNREGA, with costs shared 60:40 between Centre and States (90:10 for north-eastern and Himalayan States). The upgrade follows allegations by the Uttar Pradesh Congress on 15 October of irregularities in the digital attendance system in 11 districts, including fake attendance through cloned apps. The minister said technology checks should not stop eligible workers from getting their entitlements because of connectivity or technical failures.

## Prelims facts

- On 23 October 2026, the Rural Development Ministry launched an upgraded NMMS app with liveness detection, anti-cloning safeguards and AI photo de-duplication.
- Flagged photos automatically hold back the wage list and Fund Transfer Order until checks are complete; offline attendance and an exception mechanism were added.
- VB-G RAM G replaced MGNREGA from 1 July 2026 and guarantees 125 days of work per rural household a year, up from 100.
- Since 1 July 2026, nearly 46 crore person-days were generated, about 40 crore recorded through face authentication, across 31.23 lakh worksites.
- VB-G RAM G costs are shared 60:40 between Centre and States, and 90:10 for north-eastern and Himalayan States.

## Quick recall

- **When was the upgraded NMMS app launched?** 23 October 2026, by Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi.
- **From when did VB-G RAM G replace MGNREGA?** 1 July 2026.
- **Days of work guaranteed under VB-G RAM G?** 125 days per rural household a year, up from 100 under MGNREGA.
- **Centre-State funding ratio under VB-G RAM G?** 60:40 for general States; 90:10 for north-eastern and Himalayan States.
- **When was face authentication added to the NMMS app?** March 2026.
- **What happens when AI de-duplication flags a photo?** The wage list and Fund Transfer Order are withheld until checks are complete.
- **Person-days generated since 1 July 2026?** Nearly 46 crore, about 40 crore of them through face authentication.
- **Who is covered by the exception mechanism?** Elderly workers, persons with disabilities and cases of technical failure.

## Prelims practice question

With reference to the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), consider the following statements:
1. It guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household in a financial year.
2. Its costs are shared between the Centre and general category States in the ratio 75:25.
3. States may notify a period of up to 60 days in a year, covering peak agricultural seasons, when no works are taken up.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only. Statement 1 is correct: 125 days, up from 100 under MGNREGA. Statement 2 is incorrect: the ratio is 60:40 for general States and 90:10 for north-eastern and Himalayan States. Statement 3 is correct: States must announce in advance up to 60 days a year, such as sowing and harvest seasons, when no scheme works are undertaken.

## UPSC previous-year questions this connects to

- UPSC Mains 2018, GS2: E-governance is not only about utilisation of the power of new technology, but also much about the critical importance of the 'use value' of information. Explain. (https://upsc.help/pyq/q324-e-governance-not-only-about-utilisation-power-new/)
  How to use this story in the answer: Show that the value of e-governance lies in acting on information: NMMS data now automatically triggers holds on suspicious wage payments.
- UPSC Mains 2025, GS4: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program, MGNREGA was earlier known as National Rural Employment Scheme, NREGA. It is an Indian Social Welfare Program that aimed at fulfilling the 'Right to Work' provisions made in the Constitution. MGNREGA was launched in 2006 under Rural Employment Sector by the Ministry of Rural Development. Main objective of the program is to give legal guarantee of wage employment to the adult members of rural households who are willing to do unskilled manual labour work subject to a maximum of 100 days per year for every household. Every rural household has the right to register under the scheme, job card is issued to the registered, Job Card holder can seek employment; State Government shall pay 25% of minimum wage for the first 30 days as compensatory daily unemployment allowance to the families and of wage for remaining period of the year. MGNREGA work was undertaken by various Gram Panchayats. You have been appointed as an Administrator Incharge of the District. You have been given the responsibility of monitoring MGNREGA work undertaken by various Gram Panchayats. You are also given the authority to give technical sanctions to all MGNREGA works. In one of the Panchayats in your jurisdiction, you notice that your predecessor has mismanaged the Program in terms of: (i) Money not disbursed to actual job-seekers. (ii) Muster Rolls of the Labourers not properly maintained. (iii) Mismatch between the work done and payments made. (iv) Payments made to fictitious persons. (v) Job Cards were given without looking into the need of person. (vi) Mismanagement of funds and to the extent of siphoning of funds. (vii) Approved works that never existed. (a) What is your reaction to the above situation and how do you restore the proper functioning of MGNREGA Program in this regard? (b) What actions would you initiate, to solve the various issues listed above? (c) How would you deal with the above situation? (https://upsc.help/pyq/q157-mahatma-gandhi-national-rural-employment-guarantee-program/)
  How to use this story in the answer: Cite the upgraded attendance system as a tool an administrator can use against fictitious workers and false muster rolls, with safeguards for genuine workers.
- UPSC Mains 2026, GS2: Can the constitutional mandate of rights-based welfare be effectively realised in the context of non-integrated governance and minimal public investment? Examine. (https://upsc.help/pyq/q099-can-constitutional-mandate-rights-based-welfare-effectively-realised/)

## Mains practice question

Technology can curb leakages in welfare schemes but can also exclude genuine beneficiaries. Discuss with reference to the upgraded attendance system under VB-G RAM G. (150 words)

### Model answer

On 23 October 2026, the Rural Development Ministry upgraded the NMMS attendance app for VB-G RAM G, which replaced MGNREGA from 1 July 2026, after face authentication alone failed to stop fake attendance.

## Curbing leakages
- Liveness detection defeats photos of photos; anti-cloning safeguards target fake apps of the kind alleged in 11 Uttar Pradesh districts.
- AI de-duplication automatically withholds wage lists and Fund Transfer Orders for suspicious entries.
- Layered checks: e-measurement book, DBT, spot inspections, social audits.

## Risk of exclusion
- Authentication can fail for elderly or disabled workers and at worksites without network.
- Face matching may vary across regions.

## Safeguards built in
- Offline attendance, an exception mechanism through the mate, and region-calibrated AI.
- The minister said technology must not deny eligible workers their entitlements.

## Way forward
- Publish failure and exception data; time-bound grievance redress; keep social audits central.

Technology should verify work, not decide entitlement on its own.

## The basics

## Why this matters
Every welfare scheme faces the same problem: making sure money reaches the person who did the work. Rural employment schemes have long fought fake muster rolls and ghost workers. The October 2026 upgrade of the attendance app under VB-G RAM G is a live case study for GS2 questions on e-governance, transparency and the performance of welfare schemes.

## From MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G
MGNREGA, enacted in 2005, gave a legal right to 100 days of wage work a year to rural households. The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 replaced it from 1 July 2026 and raised the guarantee to 125 days.

## Why face authentication was not enough
The National Mobile Monitoring System app records attendance at worksites with photographs. Face authentication was added in March 2026. But field checks found photographs of photographs, mismatched worker counts and repeated images across muster rolls. In mid-October, the Uttar Pradesh Congress alleged irregularities in the digital attendance system in 11 districts, including fake attendance through cloned apps.

## What the upgrade adds
The new layer rests on Liveness detection and AI checks that sit between attendance and payment.

## The scale

## The exclusion question
Stronger checks can shut out the very people a scheme is meant for: elderly workers whose faces do not match, workers with disabilities, or sites with no network. The upgrade includes offline attendance and an exception mechanism through the worksite mate. The minister said technology checks should not deny eligible workers their entitlements. Whether that holds will depend on how exceptions and grievances are handled, a theme explored in Leakages and exclusion in welfare delivery.

## Sources

- https://indianmasterminds.com/news/nmms-app-upgrade-ai-security-vb-g-ram-g-245255/
- https://egov.eletsonline.com/?p=107120
- https://prsindia.org/billtrack/prs-products/prs-bill-summary-1765904748
- https://theprint.in/india/up-congress-flags-irregularities-in-vb-g-ram-g-digital-attendance-system/3073112/
- https://superkalam.com/current-affairs/24-10-2026/ai-tools-to-be-used-to-verify-attendance-in-jobs-scheme-pg9-2195ddce-4738-49f5-a859-b66a7c78a6bf