STATE TIMES NEWS
- The Act Enhances Statutory Employment Guarantee to 125 Days
- Panchayats to lead the future -planning power to be with Gram Sabha and Panchayats
- Viksit Bharat-G RAM G aligned with the Vision of Viksit Bharat@2047
NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday gave her assent to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, the Rural Development Ministry said.
The VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, was passed by Parliament, amid opposition protests.
The Act enhances the statutory wage employment guarantee to 125 days per financial year for rural households and seeks to advance empowerment, inclusive growth, convergence of development initiatives and saturation-based delivery, thereby strengthening the foundation for a prosperous, resilient and self-reliant Rural Bharat.
Earlier, Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, marking a decisive reform in India’s rural employment and development framework. The Act replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 with a modern statutory framework that enhances livelihood security and is aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
Anchored in the principles of empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation, the Act seeks to transform rural employment from a standalone welfare intervention into an integrated instrument of development. It strengthens income security for rural households, modernises governance and accountability, and links wage employment with the creation of durable and productive rural assets, thereby laying the foundation for a prosperous and resilient Rural Bharat.
The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 marks a significant milestone in India’s rural employment framework, reinforcing livelihood security and sustainable development. One of the key highlights of the Act is the enhanced statutory employment guarantee. Under Section 5(1), every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work is entitled to a minimum of 125 days of wage employment per financial year. This is a notable enhancement over the previous 100-day provision, ensuring predictable income, strengthened livelihood security, and meaningful engagement of rural households in national development.
To support agriculture and rural labour requirements, the Act allows States to notify an aggregated pause period of up to sixty days in a financial year during peak sowing and harvesting seasons (Section 6). The full 125-day employment guarantee remains intact for the remaining period, striking a balance between agricultural productivity and workers’ rights.
The Act also mandates timely wage payments. Wages must be paid weekly or within fifteen days of completion of work (Section 5(3)), with delay compensation payable as per Schedule II. This provision reinforces wage security and protects workers from delays that previously hampered income stability.
A distinctive feature of the Act is the linkage of employment with productive rural infrastructure. Wage employment is aligned with the creation of durable public assets in four thematic domains: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and works to mitigate extreme weather events (Section 4(2) read with Schedule I). These assets are planned through a bottom-up process and aggregated into the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, ensuring convergence, outcome-based planning, and saturation of critical rural infrastructure based on local needs.
The Act strengthens decentralized planning with national convergence. Works originate from Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs), prepared and approved at the Gram Panchayat level through participatory processes (Sections 4(1)-4(3)). These plans are digitally integrated with national platforms like PM Gati Shakti, facilitating coordinated planning across Ministries while retaining local decision-making authority.
A reformed financial architecture ensures predictable funding through a 60:40 cost-sharing pattern between the Centre and States, 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States, and 100% funding for Union Territories without legislatures. Normative allocations based on objective parameters (Sections 4(5) and 22(4)) preserve statutory entitlements while maintaining fiscal discipline.
The Act also enhances administrative capacity, raising the expenditure ceiling from 6% to 9%, enabling improved staffing, training, technical support, and effective field-level implementation.
Importantly, the Act preserves the right to demand employment. Section 5(1) clearly obliges the Government to provide 125 days of wage employment, reinforced by grievance redressal mechanisms. Employment is tied to the creation of productive, durable, and climate-resilient assets, ensuring mutually reinforcing objectives of livelihood and infrastructure development (Section 4(2) and Schedule I).
Technology plays an enabling role, with provisions for biometric authentication, geo-tagging, real-time dashboards, and strengthened social audits by Gram Sabhas (Sections 20, 23, and 24). The Act also reinstates unemployment allowance, payable if employment is not provided within fifteen days, ensuring meaningful statutory protection.
The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, expands employment guarantees, institutionalizes participatory planning, strengthens accountability, and integrates convergence-driven development. It positions rural employment as a strategic tool for empowerment, inclusive growth, and resilient rural prosperity, fully aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.