President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, clearing the way for a sweeping overhaul of India’s flagship rural employment programme.
With the President’s approval, the nearly two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has been repealed and replaced by a new statutory framework aligned with the government’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
A key change under the new law is the increase in the statutory employment guarantee from 100 days to 125 days per financial year for rural households. The government has described this as an expansion of entitlements, arguing that the earlier 100-day provision had effectively become a ceiling rather than a minimum guarantee in many parts of the country.
The VB-G RAM G Act also brings a major shift in the programme’s funding structure. Unlike MGNREGA, under which wages were fully funded by the Centre, the new framework introduces shared financial responsibility between the Centre and the states.
Under the revised model, funding will follow a uniform 60:40 Centre–State ratio nationwide. This replaces the earlier differentiated arrangements, including the 90:10 pattern for northeastern and Himalayan states and the 75:25 ratio for others. The government has said the uniform formula is intended to strengthen cooperative federalism and encourage greater state ownership of both implementation and outcomes.
Another significant provision allows for the temporary suspension of employment for up to 60 days during peak sowing and harvesting seasons. The government has said this step is aimed at easing farm labour shortages during critical agricultural periods, a long-standing concern raised by farmers.
The new law also tightens the scope of permissible works. Employment under VB-G RAM G will now be limited to four core areas—water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-linked assets and climate resilience. According to the government, this narrower focus is meant to improve the quality, durability and long-term usefulness of assets created under the scheme.
The restructuring of the rural employment framework marks one of the most significant shifts in social welfare policy in recent years, with wide-ranging implications for rural livelihoods, state finances and Centre–State relations.