More Stories

Informist, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan introduced a new framework for rural employment, the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha Tuesday. The bill, acronymed VB-G RAM G, aims to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, and increase the guaranteed employment up to 125 days from 100 days under the MGNREGA.

 

The bill will enhance the statutory wage employment guarantee to 125 days per rural household in each financial year for adults who volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work, the Ministry of Rural Development said in a release.

 

All works taken up under the bill will be identified through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans and aggregated into the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, creating a unified national framework for rural public works, the release said. The bill will prioritise water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and special works to mitigate extreme weather events. 

 

The bill has proposed to run the rural employment scheme as a centrally sponsored scheme, with a fund sharing pattern of 60:40 for most states, and 90:10 for north-eastern and Himalayan states, and Union Territories. "To promote inclusive growth and equitable distribution of financial resources in a fair manner, the bill provides for Normative Allocation to States based on objective parameters," the release said. 

 

John Brittas, a Member of Parliament from Kerala, said in social media platform X: "125 days" is the headline. 60:40 is the fine print - MGNREGA was a fully centrally funded one for unskilled wages; G RAM G downgrades it with States to bear 40%. States will now have to shell out around Rs. 50,000+ crore (INR 500 billion)..."

 

"Cost-shifting by stealth, not reform. This is the new federalism: States pay more, Centre walks away, yet claims the credit," he added. "MGNREGA was demand-driven: if a worker asked for work, the Centre had to pay - G RAM G replaces this with Centre's pre-fixed normative allocations & ceilings. When funds run out, rights run out."  End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.