New Delhi: The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 — which was passed by the Lok Sabha Thursday — repeals the MGNREGA and paves the way for a structural transformation of the government’s role in the rural employment landscape.
Passed in 2005 as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), and renamed in 2009 as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), it aimed to enhance livelihood security of households in rural areas.
The Act promised at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill aims to establish a “rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047”, by providing a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment.
Here are the key differences between the two rural employment frameworks:
* While the MGNREGA has a provision for 100 days of wage employment, the VB-G RAM G Bill promises 125 days of wage employment.
* The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is demand-driven, meaning the government has to allocate additional funds if there is demand for work.
The VB-G RAM G Bill provides for normative allocation to states, and any expenditure beyond it has to be borne by the state governments.
* Under MGNREGS, 100 per cent of the wages are to be paid by the Centre, while the material cost would be shared 75:25 between the Centre and the states.
Under the VB-G RAM G, also a centrally sponsored scheme, the state governments will take on a larger share of the expenditure than before.
The financial liability would be shared between the Centre and the state governments following a ratio of 90:10 for the northeastern and Himalayan states, and 60:40 for all other states and Union territories (UTs) with legislature.
For the UTs without legislature, the whole cost would be borne by the central government.
* Under MGNREGA, work can be sought throughout the year.
Under the VB-G RAM G, the state will notify a period covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting, during which work cannot be sought under this scheme.
* Under MGNREGA, work is divided into broad categories such as water conservation, drought-proofing, irrigation, renovation of traditional water bodies, land development, and flood control.
The VB-G RAM G Bill lists four thematic focus domains: water security through water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and works for the mitigation of extreme weather events.
* Under MGNREGA, the gram panchayat is responsible for identification of projects in its area. Plans and decisions regarding the nature and choice of works to be undertaken, the order of each worksite selection, etc., would be made in open assemblies of the gram sabha or ward sabha and ratified by the panchayat.
The programme officer would allot at least 50 per cent of the works in terms of cost under the scheme, to be implemented through the gram panchayats.
Under VB-G RAM G, the work undertaken shall originate from the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, prepared by the gram panchayats and integrated with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan.
* There is no categorisation of panchayats under MGNREGA.
The VB-G RAM G Bill says every panchayat shall prepare saturation-mode plans based on its classification into categories A, B, C — determined based on development parameters.
* The VB-G RAM G talks about a comprehensive digital ecosystem, including biometric authentication at various levels, global positioning system or mobile-based worksite monitoring, proactive public disclosures, and artificial intelligence for planning, audits and fraud risk mitigation, which will be used to modernise governance, accountability and citizen engagement.
Orissa POST – Odisha’s No.1 English Daily
