Rural jobs law 2.0: More days, states must chip in

VB-G RAM G Bill to replace MGNREGA will overhaul funding, implementation

- Vijay C Roy & Manas Pimpalkhare

The Centre is planning to replace the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) with a revamped legislation that promises more days of work, but asks states to share the burden and freezes employment during the farming season.

The Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or the VB-G RAMG Bill, 2025 expands employment from 100 days to 125 days, sharpens the focus on strategic infrastructure, introduces localized and integrated planning, and revises the existing funding pattern.

FAQs circulated by the ministries of agriculture and rural development said the scheme has been shifted from a central sector to a centrally sponsored scheme because rural employment is inherently local, and states now have to share cost and responsibility. The funding pattern between the Centre and states will change to 60:40. The bill proposes a 90:10 split for northeastern states and the Himalayan states and certain Union territories.

As of now, states pay 25% of the materials and 50% of the admin cost, the FAQs said.

In a move aimed at strengthening rural income security, the employment guarantee under the scheme has been raised from 100 to 125 days. The increase is expected to provide additional wage employment to rural households, helping them cope with income uncertainty and rising living costs.