The Centre is soon to bring a new bill concerning rural employment in the Lok Sabha that will Mcq cancel nearly two decades old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA,
in favour of a new and different configuration under which will fit and fulfill the future development agenda of the government. The name of this bill is Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025.
The Bill will thus represent a major milestone in rural employment policies in India, which have historically remained focused on MGNREGA since the launch of this initiative in 2005. The Bill proposes a new focus in this regard in accordance with Viksit Bharat vision by 2047.
As according to an official press release, “The VB–G RAM G Act, 2025 will ‘establish a modern statutory framework in line with Viksit Bharat 2047′, and at the same time will continue to provide employment security in villages. Under this legislation, the government will provide 125 days of wage employment to every rural household if its adult members are ready to undertake unskilled manual work,” which is an increased benefit over the existing MGNREGA law, which provides 100 days of employment in a household.
The proposed framework gives a higher priority to creating durable and productive assets in villages and employment generation. The government has short-listed four verticals under which the work will occur. They include water security through water works, such as conservation and harvest/irrigation projects; basic rural infrastructure, including critical infrastructure necessary for connectivity and basic service delivery; livelihood infrastructure focused on improving livelihood opportunities in villages; and special works to make villages more resilient to extreme weather events, in view of the increased attention being given to climate resilience.
According to officials, in this new mission, employment generation is expected to be integrated with outcomes in rural development rather than being a standalone welfare service. With this focus on infrastructure related to livelihood and climate change, it is expected to improve the economy of families in rural areas, in addition to bridging the gap in rural development.
One of the important aspects of this Bill is that all assets developed under this Scheme will be pooled under a Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack. As given in a statement by the government, this digital and institutional ecosystem will allow better planning, monitoring, and coordination of projects related to rural infrastructure in different states. The initiative aims to have a common national approach to rural development in order to remove overlaps of assets.
The emergence of the VB-G RAM G Bill is taking place when MGNREGA remains among the largest social security schemes in the country, with millions of jobs being provided each year. The move to repeal and replace MGNREGA is set to spark a heated debate in parliament, especially when it comes to matters concerning worker rights and financial commitments. Once launched, this Bill will be considered for discussion and analysis in the lower house of parliament, with the government expected to clarify in which manner this proposed structure will reinforce, or diverge from, the existing model of MGNREGA in an attempt to bring employment in the rural sector in line with its developmental vision for two decades.
