VB-GRAM G Act Risks and Concerns on Women's Employment

Any change to India’s rural job guarantee architecture is automatically a women’s employment story—because women are not peripheral participants in this labor market, they are often its majority.

- ‘TDG NETWORK

Official government communication has noted that women's participation under MGNREGA, has been around the high-50% range in recent years, with figures such as 58.15% cited for FY 2024-25, alongside large absolute participation numbers. Is why the newly passed VB-G RAM G framework—positioned as a replacement for MGN-REGA~—has triggered immediate debate over whether it strengthens livelihood security or reshapes it in ways that may unintentionally narrow women's access? On paper, the headline change looks pro-worker: the statutory guarantee rises from 100 to 125 days of wage employment per rural household, while retaining the unemployment allowanc