New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has given assent to the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB—G RAM G) Bill, 2025, an official said. The Rural Development Ministry official said the development marks a significant milestone in the transformation of rural jobs policy.
The new VB — G RAM G Act, 2025, enhances the statutory wage employment guarantee to 125 days per financial year for rural households and seeks to advance empowerment, inclusive growth, convergence of development initiatives, and saturation-based delivery, thereby strengthening the foundation for a prosperous, resilient, and self-reliant Rural Bharat.
Earlier, Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, marking a decisive reform in India’s rural employment and development framework.
The Act replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, with a modern statutory framework that enhances livelihood security and is aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
The Ministry said in a statement that the Act is anchored in the principles of empowerment, growth, convergence, and saturation and seeks to transform rural employment from a standalone welfare intervention into an integrated instrument of development.
It strengthens income security for rural households, modernises governance and accountability, and links wage employment with the creation of durable and productive rural assets, thereby laying the foundation for a prosperous and resilient Rural Bharat, it said.
The Act also carries a balanced provision for agriculture and rural labour. To facilitate adequate availability of agricultural labour during peak sowing and harvesting seasons, the Act empowers States to notify an aggregated pause period aggregating to 60 days in a financial year (Section 6).
The Rural Development Ministry said the full 125-day employment guarantee remains intact, to be provided during the remaining period, ensuring a calibrated balance that supports both agricultural productivity and worker security.
