The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government will replace the country’s flagship job scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) with Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) VB—G RAM G BILL, 2025.
The new programme will provide 125 days of unskilled manual labour. (File photo)The legislation will establish a “rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, by providing a statutory guarantee of one hundred and twenty-five days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work; to promote empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat.”
The new programme, which will provide 125 days of unskilled manual labour, “will focus on empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation through public works aggregating into forming Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, with a thematic focus on water security through water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and special works to mitigate extreme weather events.”
The Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) VB—G RAM G BILL, 2025 entails a higher spending by the state governments. While the Scheme shall be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, the fund-sharing pattern between the central government and the state governments shall be 90:10 for the North Eastern States, Himalayan States and Union territory (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir) and 60:40 for all other states and Union territories with legislature.
Under MGNREGA, the centre provided 100% funding for the scheme.
The Bill, for the first time, bans VB G Ram G-related works in the agricultural seasons.
“Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or rules made thereunder, and to facilitate adequate availability of agricultural labour during peak agricultural seasons, no work shall be commenced or executed under this Act, during such peak seasons as may be notified,” the Bill says.
It also says, “If an applicant for employment under the Scheme is not provided such employment within fifteen days of receipt of his application seeking employment or from the date on which the employment has been sought in the case of an advance application, whichever is later, he shall be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance in accordance with the provision of this section.”
The scheme will be managed by a Central Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council, formed by the Union government.
The Bill says, “The Central Council shall consist of Chairperson, representatives of Central Government and State Governments, not more than fifteen non-official members representing Panchayati Raj Institutions, organisations of workers and weaker section of the society and a Member-Secretary not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India.”
Earlier, MGNREGA would be handled directly by the rural development ministry without any special council or body.
For the purposes of regular monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the provisions of this Act at the State level, every state government shall, by notification, constitute a State Council to be known as the State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council.
The Central Government will also form a National Level Steering Committee to recommend decisions relating to normative allocations to States and to advise on matters requiring inter-ministerial consultation, including convergence framework and to provide high level oversight for the effective implementation of this Act. The states too, will have steering committees.
The scheme allows the Panchayats at the district, intermediate and village levels to be the principal authorities for planning, implementation and monitoring of the Scheme made under this Act and District Programme Coordinators will be appointed for the implementation of the Scheme.
The proposed law will have an overriding effect.
The bill says, “The provisions of this Act or the Scheme made thereunder shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of such law.”
“Provided that where a State Act exists or is enacted to provide employment guarantee for unskilled manual work to rural households consistent with the provisions of this Act under which the guarantee of the households is not less than and the conditions of employment are not inferior to what is guaranteed under this Act, the State Government shall have the option of implementing its own enactment,” it added.
