In News:

The Union Government has introduced the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RaM G) in the Lok Sabha to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005.

It marks a structural shift in India’s rural wage employment framework in line with the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision.

What is VB-G RaM G?

It is a proposed statutory rural wage employment guarantee law that:

• Assures 125 days of wage employment per rural household per financial year (earlier 100 days under MGNREGA)
• Focuses on durable, productivity-enhancing rural assets
• Integrates employment generation with infrastructure creation, livelihoods, and climate resilience

Core Objectives

1. Move from distress-relief employment to development-linked employment
2. Ensure convergence of rural schemes
3. Create durable and climate-resilient assets
4. Improve transparency, digital monitoring, and accountability

Key Features of the Bill

1. Enhanced Employment Guarantee

• Increased from 100 to 125 days
• About 25% higher income potential for rural households

2. Four Priority Work Categories

Works are restricted to:

• Water security (water harvesting, irrigation, conservation)
• Core rural infrastructure (roads, connectivity)
• Livelihood infrastructure (storage, markets, productive assets)
• Climate-resilience works (flood control, drought mitigation, soil conservation)

All works will be mapped into a proposed Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack.

3. Shift to Normative Funding

• Moves from demand-driven (MGNREGA model) to budget-based normative allocation
• Funds distributed to States using objective parameters
• Unemployment allowance still payable if work is not provided

4. Funding Pattern (Centrally Sponsored Scheme)

• 60:40 – Centre : States (most States)
• 90:10 – North-Eastern & Himalayan States
• 100% Central funding – UTs without legislature

5. Digital Governance & Transparency

Mandatory provisions include:

• Biometric attendance
• Aadhaar-linked wage payments
• Geo-tagging of assets
• AI-based fraud detection
• Real-time MIS dashboards
• Weekly public disclosure meetings at Gram Panchayat level
• Strengthened social audits

6. Agricultural Season Safeguard

• States can declare up to 60 days (aggregate) when works will pause during peak sowing/harvesting
• Aims to:
  • Ensure farm labour availability
  • Prevent wage inflation in agriculture

7. Decentralised Planning

• Works planned through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs)
• Spatial planning integration with PM Gati Shakti
• Plans aggregated from Gram Panchayat → Block → District → State

8. Institutional Mechanism

• Central & State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Councils
• States must notify their operational scheme within 6 months of enactment

Why Replace MGNREGA? (Government’s Rationale)

• Rural poverty decline: From 25.7% (2011-12) to ~5% (2023-24)
• Need to shift from relief works to productive infrastructure
• Asset quality issues under MGNREGA
• Reported misappropriation (~?193 crore in 2024-25)
• Only a small % of households completed 100 days post-pandemic
• Rising need for climate-resilient rural infrastructure

Major Differences from MGNREGA