“Celebrating 21 Years of Truth and Trust” HE
The passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for
Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025
(VB-G RAM G) marks a bold and necessary evo-
lution in India’s rural employment landscape. Replacing the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), this new framework aligns rural livelihoods with the ambitious vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 – a developed India by 2047. While debates rage, the bill’s positives far outweigh the criticisms, offering a modern, efficient, and outcome-oriented approach to rural empowerment.First and foremost, the bill increases the statutory guarantee of wage employment from 100 to 125 days per rural household annually. This 25% expansion directly enhances income security for millions of rural families, particularly in an
era where diversified livelihoods are emerging but seasonal distress persists. Even under MGNREGA, the national aver- age hovered around 50 days per household in recent years(50.24 days in 2024-25), due to budgetary and implementation constraints. By raising the bar, VB-G RAM G signals a stronger commitment to rural workers, potentially boosting household earnings and reducing poverty further. A key strength lies in its shift toward creating durable, high-quality rural assets. Unlike the scattered works under MGNREGA, the new scheme focuses on four priority themes:water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood support,and climate resilience. Projects like ponds, check dams,
rural roads, and weather-mitigation structures will now be planned on a saturation basis through Viksit Gram PanchayatPlans. These local plans feed into a Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, a unified digital repository that ensures coordinated development. Integration with PM Gati Shakti – India’s national master plan for multi-modal connectivity – will spatially optimise works, linking village roads
to highways and avoiding duplication. This convergence with other schemes (e.g., Jal Jeevan Mission) maximises impact,turning employment into long-term productivity gains for agriculture and rural economies.Transparency and efficiency receive a major upgrade through technology-driven governance. Weekly wage payments replace delayed fortnightly ones, biometric and GPS monitoring curb fraud, and AI-powered audits ensure accountability. Social
audits and real-time dashboards will minimise leakages that plagued MGNREGA, where irregularities and fake works were recurrent issues. The centrally sponsored model (60:40 funding share, higher for NE states) encourages state accountability while maintaining central support, fostering better implementation.
Critics worry about capped allocations diluting the demand-driven nature, but this normative funding brings predictability and aligns with reduced rural distress today – poverty rates have fallen sharply since 2005, with better connectivity and alternative jobs. Structured pauses during peak agricultural seasons
will free labour for farming, balancing needs. Ultimately,VB-G RAM G transforms a safety net into a growth engine,empowering villages to contribute to national development.In essence, this bill is not a rollback but a forward-looking reform.It retains the legal right to employment (with unemployment
allowances), expands opportunities, and prioritises resilient infrastructure in a changing India. As Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan noted, it fulfils the vision of self-reliant villages while addressing MGNREGA’s structural gaps. For a nation aspiring to be Viksit Bharat, this is a timely, progressive step toward prosperous, resilient rural India. Let us embrace the change.
Progressive Rural Reform
