President Murmu Assents to Viksit Bharat Gramin Rozgar Act, 2025

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G) Act, 2025, marking a major reform in India’s rural employment and livelihood framework, a Rural Development Ministry official said on Sunday.

The new law enhances the statutory wage employment guarantee for rural households to a minimum of 125 days per financial year, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005. The legislation aligns with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 and aims to strengthen livelihood security while integrating employment generation with rural development goals.

According to the Ministry, the Act is anchored in the principles of empowerment, inclusive growth, convergence of development initiatives and saturation-based delivery. It seeks to transform rural employment from a standalone welfare measure into a comprehensive instrument for sustainable development.

A key feature of the Act is the enhanced statutory employment guarantee under Section 5(1), which provides at least 125 days of wage employment per rural household annually for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work. This increase from the earlier 100-day entitlement is expected to improve income stability and work predictability for rural families.

To balance agricultural needs and labour availability, the Act allows states to notify an aggregated pause period of up to 60 days in a financial year during peak sowing and harvesting seasons. The remaining period will ensure fulfilment of the full 125-day employment guarantee.

The Act also emphasises transparency and accountability through technology-enabled measures such as biometric authentication, geo-tagging and real-time dashboards. At the same time, it strengthens social audits by Gram Sabhas to ensure community oversight and inclusion.

Significantly, the legislation removes earlier dis-entitlement provisions and restores unemployment allowance as a statutory safeguard. If employment is not provided within the stipulated period, unemployment allowance will become payable after 15 days, the Ministry said.

Officials described the enactment as a milestone in modernising rural employment governance and laying the foundation for a prosperous, resilient and self-reliant Rural Bharat.