MGNREGA's Quiet Rewrite, Meta's Reckoning, and Modi's Absence in Tehran | The India Report | Ep 3

By Asad Ashraf

July 8, 2026

This week on The India Report: MGNREGA has quietly been replaced by VB-G RAM G, with higher wages and more guaranteed days on paper, but a new funding split that could hit UP and Bihar's tightest budgets hardest. Meta has been summoned by the government after Instagram approved ads promoting child sexual abuse material, raising hard questions about whether its safety systems ever really worked. And PM Modi's decision to skip Ayatollah Khamenei's funeral, sending a junior minister while Pakistan's PM attended in person, reveals a careful hedge between India's ties to Iran and its growing closeness with Israel and the Gulf.

Every week, The India Report delves into three major stories in depth, moving beyond the headlines to uncover their broader significance. Using a social science lens, the show explains not only what happened but also why it happened, what it reveals about society, and the broader patterns shaping contemporary India.