NEW DELHI: The Centre is set to replace the two-decade-old national rural employment scheme – MGNREGA – with a new legislative framework titled the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025.The Bill, aimed at aligning rural livelihoods with the government’s long-term development vision, has been listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha, according to the supplementary list of business issued on Monday.
The proposed legislation seeks to dismantle MGNREGA, enacted in 2005, and establish a new statutory regime for rural employment.Under the proposed law, the government would guarantee 125 days of wage employment every financial year to each rural household whose adult members are willing to undertake unskilled manual work. This is an upgrade from the minimum 100 days of wage employment.The bill positions itself as part of a broader “rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047”.In the statement of objects and reasons, rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan acknowledged the role played by MGNREGA over the last 20 years in providing assured wage employment to rural households. However, the new legislation signals a reimagining of rural employment policy as the government seeks to transition from an entitlement-based safety net to what it describes as a future-oriented development mission.The VB-G RAM G Bill would mark the end of one of India’s most expansive social welfare programmes and the beginning of a new chapter in rural employment policy, potentially reshaping how the state supports livelihoods in the countryside.