Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin):VB-G RAM G Act, 2025

FOCUS

The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, creates a new legal framework for rural employment. It received assent of the President of India on December 20, 2025. The Act guarantees that every eligible rural household can receive up to one hundred and twenty-five days of paid unskilled manual work in a financial year, if adult members of the household choose to seek such work. 

Each State Government must notify and run a Scheme in line with the Act which operates as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme where both the union government and the states share financial responsibility. The sharing formula differs across states, with a higher Central contribution for North Eastern and Himalayan States, the Act notes.

Planning under the Act begins at the Gram Panchayat level. Every work must be drawn from the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan and then combined at higher administrative levels into the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack. The Stack is structured around four thematic focus domains: water security through water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and works to mitigate extreme weather events. If a person applies for work and it is not provided within fifteen days, the household becomes eligible for a daily unemployment allowance, subject to conditions and rates notified by the State. Wage rates are to be fixed by the Central Government and cannot fall below previously notified minimums until revised.

The Act emphasises monitoring and transparency. It requires digital record-keeping, biometric verification, geospatial tracking of works, regular public disclosure and structured social audits. It also requires a formal grievance redressal system at different administrative levels.

With this, the earlier employment guarantee law, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, stands repealed. 

    FACTOIDS

  1. What structural changes does the new Act introduce compared to the earlier framework?

    The move from MGNREGA to the VB-G Ram G Act, 2025, changes both financing and control. While the new law raises the guarantee to 125 days of work per household over the earlier 100 day cap, it replaces MGNREGA’s demand-driven funding model with a system of state-wise “normative allocation,” where the Centre fixes a spending ceiling in advance. Any spending beyond that must be borne by the State. 

    The cost-sharing pattern is also revised to 60:40 for most States and 90:10 for northeastern and Himalayan States. The Act introduces a mandatory pause of up to sixty days during peak agricultural seasons which was not a feature earlier. Finally, digital systems such as biometric authentication and geo-tagged monitoring are written into the law.

  2. What role do State Governments and local bodies play?

    State Governments must notify and run the scheme within their territories. They share funding responsibilities and must also bear costs beyond their approved allocation, including unemployment allowance and delay compensation. Panchayats are the main planning and implementing authorities. Gram Panchayats register households, receive job applications and carry out works. District Programme Coordinators and Programme Officers supervise the scheme and ensure compliance.

  3. How does the Act use biometric and digital systems?

    The Act makes digital monitoring a key aspect of implementation. Attendance must be recorded electronically through biometric authentication and digital muster rolls. All works must be registered and tracked through a national digital platform. Wages and unemployment allowance must be paid directly through prescribed systems. Regular public disclosures must also be made through digital systems.

  4. What kind of work can be undertaken under the Act?

    All works must come from approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans and receive formal administrative and financial approval before they begin. Contractors are not permitted to execute works funded under the Act. As far as possible, works must rely on manual labour and avoid labour-displacing machines. The cost of materials in a district cannot exceed forty per cent of total expenditure. The Act also allows works that create assets for individual beneficiaries, with priority given to specified vulnerable groups such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women-headed households and persons with disabilities. Maintenance of public assets created under the Act is also permitted.


    Focus and Factoids by Aruna Natarajan.

AUTHOR

Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, New Delhi

COPYRIGHT

Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, New Delhi

PUBLICATION DATE

Dec, 2025

TAGS

#employment #mgnrega #gram-panchayat

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