The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, has received presidential assent, replacing MGNREGA with enhanced rural employment guarantees. It promises 125 days of wage work per household annually, prioritizes asset creation in key sectors, and introduces technology-driven transparency while shifting to a 60:40 Centre-State funding model. This reform aligns rural jobs with Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, boosting incomes and infrastructure.
The VB-G RAM G Act marks a pivotal upgrade from the 2005 MGNREGA, addressing evolving rural needs amid falling poverty from 27.1% in 2011-12 to 5.3% in 2022-23, diversified livelihoods, and digital growth. It guarantees 125 days of unskilled manual work to rural households volunteering adults, up from 100 days, with states able to pause works for up to 60 days during peak sowing and harvesting to aid farm labour availability. Wages disbursed weekly or within a fortnight ensure quicker income flow, while unemployment allowance kicks in after 15 days if work is denied.
Key Highlights
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Employment boosted to 125 guaranteed days yearly, focusing income security without clashing agricultural cycles.
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Works channelled into four domains: water security for recharge and irrigation, core rural infrastructure like roads for connectivity, livelihood assets such as storage and markets, and climate-resilient measures against floods and erosion.
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Decentralized Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans integrate with PM Gati Shakti, aggregating into a National Rural Infrastructure Stack for coordinated development.
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Centrally sponsored scheme with 60:40 funding (90:10 for NE/Himalayan states), normative allocations tying states to outcomes, and admin spend ceiling raised to 9% for better staffing.
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Transparency via biometrics, geo-tagging, AI analytics, real-time dashboards, and Gram Sabha social audits every six months.
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Institutional backbone includes Central/State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Councils and Steering Committees for oversight and convergence.
This framework curbs leakages, cuts migration by raising earnings, and builds lasting assets, benefiting 10 crore rural households while aligning with national growth goals. Arunachal Deputy CM Chowna Mein hailed it as visionary for empowerment.
Sources: Press Information Bureau (PIB), PRS Legislative Research, DD News.