New Delhi, July 27 -- New Delhi: India's revamped rural jobs programme is emerging as an early driver of women's economic participation, with them contributing nearly two-thirds of the work generated in the scheme's first three weeks, according to government officials and data reviewed by Mint. The development can be attributed to the scheme's expanded and more inclusive framework, which has opened up new avenues beyond manual labour, the officials said.

Women accounted for over 63% of the 4.62 crore person-days generated under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAM G) during 1-20 July, the first 20 days of rollout. A 'person-day' here means one person employed for one day. So, if 100 workers are em...