New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) 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 on Sunday.

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.

Enhanced Statutory Employment Guarantee is one of the key salient features of the Act, said the statement.

The Act provides a statutory guarantee of not less than 125 days of wage employment per rural household in each financial year to households whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work (Section 5(1)), it said.

This enhancement over the earlier 100-day entitlement significantly strengthens livelihood security, predictability of work, and income stability for rural households, while also enabling them to contribute more effectively and meaningfully to national development.

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 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.

Technology under the Act is intended as an enabling mechanism, not a barrier. Sections 23 and 24 provide for technology-enabled transparency through biometric authentication, geo-tagging and real-time dashboards, while Section 20 strengthens social audits by Gram Sabhas, ensuring community oversight, transparency and inclusion, said the statement.

The Act removes earlier dis-entitlement provisions and restores unemployment allowance as a meaningful statutory safeguard. Where employment is not provided within the stipulated period, unemployment allowance becomes payable after 15 days, it said.

–IANS

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