G RAM G Bill, Set To Overhaul MGNREGA, Gets President Murmu’s Assent

Last Updated:December 21, 2025, 18:41 IST

The Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Act, 2025 expands rural wage employment to 125 days, replaces MGNREGA, and links jobs to durable rural infrastructure.

The Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Act, 2025 expands rural wage employment to 125 days, replaces MGNREGA, and links jobs to durable rural infrastructure. (Image: PTI/File)

The President of India has given assent to the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, marking a major overhaul of India’s rural employment framework and expanding the statutory wage employment guarantee to 125 days per rural household per year.

The legislation, which was passed by Parliament earlier this year, replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 with a restructured and modern statutory framework aligned with the government’s long-term vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.

The government said the new law is aimed at transforming rural employment from a standalone welfare measure into an integrated instrument of development, combining income security with the creation of durable, productive and climate-resilient rural assets.

Expanded employment guarantee

Under the Act, every eligible rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work is entitled to not less than 125 days of wage employment in a financial year, up from the earlier guarantee of 100 days. The enhanced entitlement is intended to strengthen livelihood security, predictability of work and income stability for rural households.

To ensure that agricultural labour availability is not disrupted during peak sowing and harvesting seasons, states have been empowered to notify an aggregated pause period of up to 60 days in a year. The full 125-day employment guarantee remains intact and must be provided during the remaining period.

Timely wages and unemployment allowance

The Act mandates payment of wages every week or, in any case, within 15 days of completion of work. Delays beyond this period will attract mandatory compensation, reinforcing wage security.

The law also restores unemployment allowance as a meaningful statutory safeguard. If employment is not provided within the stipulated time, unemployment allowance becomes payable after 15 days, strengthening the enforceability of the right to work.

Linking jobs with rural infrastructure

A key shift under the new framework is the explicit linking of wage employment with the creation of durable public assets. Works undertaken under the Act will focus on four priority areas:

• Water security and water-related works
• Core rural infrastructure
• Livelihood-related infrastructure
• Works to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events

All assets created will be mapped under a Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, aimed at ensuring convergence of public investment, avoiding fragmentation and achieving saturation of critical rural infrastructure based on local needs.

Decentralised planning, national convergence

Planning under the Act remains decentralised, with all works originating from Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, prepared through participatory processes and approved by Gram Sabhas. These plans will be digitally integrated with national platforms such as PM Gati Shakti to enable inter-ministerial convergence while retaining local decision-making authority.

Officials said the approach would reduce duplication, improve coordination across departments and accelerate development outcomes.

Reformed funding and governance

The Act will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, with a cost-sharing pattern of 60:40 between the Centre and states, 90:10 for northeastern and Himalayan states, and 100% central funding for Union Territories without legislatures.

Funding will be provided through state-wise normative allocations based on objective parameters, ensuring predictability and fiscal discipline while preserving statutory entitlements to employment and unemployment allowance.

Administrative expenditure limits have been increased from 6% to 9%, allowing for better staffing, training, technical capacity and field-level support.

Technology, transparency and social audits

Technology has been positioned as an enabling tool rather than a barrier. The Act provides for biometric authentication, geo-tagging of works and real-time dashboards to enhance transparency, while strengthening social audits by Gram Sabhas to ensure community oversight and inclusion.

A renewed rural employment framework

The government said the Act represents a decisive renewal of India’s rural employment guarantee, reinforcing the right to demand work while aligning employment generation with long-term rural productivity and resilience.

By expanding guaranteed employment, strengthening decentralised governance, improving accountability and embedding convergence-driven development, the new law seeks to reposition rural employment as a strategic instrument for empowerment, inclusive growth and the creation of a prosperous and self-reliant Rural Bharat.

News india G RAM G Bill, Set To Overhaul MGNREGA, Gets President Murmu’s Assent

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