The bill guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from 100 days under MGNREGA, and establishes a new statutory framework aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
Unlike Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which was fully centrally funded, VB-G RAM G will operate as a centrally-sponsored scheme, with costs shared 60:40 between the Centre and states (90:10 for northeastern and Himalayan states).
Dropping the name of Mahatma Gandhi and giving it an acronym of ‘RAM’ has made this legislation a political flashpoint between the ruling and Opposition sides.
The proposed law refocuses rural employment towards durable asset creation through four priority verticals: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and climate-resilient works. Assets created will be mapped into a national rural infrastructure stack to enable coordinated planning. Gram panchayats will prepare Viksit Gram Panchayat plans, integrated with national spatial platforms such as PM Gati-Shakti.
The bill will also introduce normative funding, under which the Centre will pre-determine state-wise allocations while retaining the legal guarantee of employment or unemployment allowance. The government argues that it will allow predictable budgeting without weakening worker rights, citing FY 2024-25 as evidence of accurate demand forecasting.
To support farmers, the bill mandates that states may notify up to 60 aggregated days during peak sowing and harvesting seasons when public works will pause, ensuring labour availability and preventing artificial wage inflation. Union rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said MGNREGA has provided wage employment for 20 years, but “further strengthening has become necessary in view of the significant socio-economic transformation witnessed in the rural landscape.” He added that while MGNREGA focused on livelihood security, the new bill aims at “empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat.”
However, the bill has triggered sharp opposition. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that “erasing Gandhi’s name on the centenary of the Sangh shows how hollow and hypocritical this government is,” adding that the party would oppose the move inside and outside Parliament. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh demanded the bill be referred to a parliamentary committee.
CPM MP John Brittas criticised the funding shift, stating, “125 days is the headline. 60:40 is the fine print… When funds run out, rights run out.” He argued that a legal employment guarantee was being reduced to a centrally managed scheme at the expense of states.
The government, however, maintains that stronger digital systems, tighter oversight, and an infrastructure-focused design make VB-G RAM G a necessary modernisation of rural employment policy.
