(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Viksit Bharat-G RAM G Act 2025 Reforming Rural Employment

(FEBRUARY-2026)

Viksit Bharat-G RAM G Act 2025 Reforming Rural Employment

Context:

Rural employment has been crucial for India's social protection for nearly 20 years. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), enacted in 2005, has helped provide jobs and improve rural incomes. However, rural India has changed significantly in that time.

Rural Employment Policy in India since Independence

Since Independence, India has aimed to reduce poverty, increase agricultural productivity, and create jobs in rural areas. Various wage employment programmes emerged as key tools for livelihood support and infrastructure development. Early programmes included the Rural Manpower Programme (1960) and the Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (1971). This led to structured interventions like the National Rural Employment Programme and the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (1993). In 2005, MGNREGA established a legal guarantee for rural employment nationwide, following earlier laws like the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act (1977).

MGNREGA: Evolution and Structural Constraints

MGNREGA Overview

Guaranteed at least 100 days of wage employment per rural household annually for unskilled manual work
Administrative and technological reforms strengthened implementation

Women's Participation

Increased from 48% in FY 2013-14 to 58.15% in FY 2025-26

Technological Advancements

Rapid expansion of Aadhaar seeding
Widespread adoption of Aadhaar-Based Payment System
Nearly universal electronic wage payments
Geo-tagging of assets increased
More works led to individual household assets

Field-Level Staff

Played a critical role with limited resources

Challenges

Persistent structural issues
Instances of works not found on the ground
Mismatches in expenditure and physical progress
Use of machinery in labor-intensive works
Frequent bypassing of digital attendance systems
Misappropriation over time
Post-pandemic, few households completed full 100 days of employment

Key Features of the Viksit Bharat-G RAM G Act, 2025

The Viksit Bharat-G RAM G Act, 2025 guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household per financial year, extending income security beyond the earlier 100-day entitlement. To safeguard agricultural operations, it provides for an aggregated 60-day no-work period during peak sowing and harvesting seasons, ensuring adequate labour availability for farmers. Workers remain eligible for the full 125 days of employment within the remaining 305 days of the year.

Wages are to be disbursed on a weekly basis, or in any case not later than a fortnight after the work is done. Employment creation is integrated with infrastructure development through four priority verticals:

Water security through water-related works,
Core rural infrastructure,
Livelihood-related infrastructure and,
Special works to mitigate extreme weather events.

All assets created are aggregated into the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, ensuring a coordinated national development approach. Planning is decentralised through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, which are prepared locally and spatially integrated with national platforms such as PM Gati Shakti.

Strengthening Administration and Accountability

The Act increases the administrative expenditure ceiling from 6% to 9%, enabling better staffing, remuneration, training and technical capacity. This reflects a shift towards a more professional and adequately supported implementation framework, expected to improve planning, execution and service delivery at the village level.

A 5-level robust institutional structure is established to ensure coordinated, accountable and transparent implementation of the Mission:

Central and State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Councils for policy guidance and review
National and State Steering Committees for strategic direction and convergence
Panchayati Raj Institutions, with Gram Panchayats implementing at least half of the works by cost
District Programme Coordinators and Programme Officers for planning, payments and social audits and,
Gram Sabhas, with a strengthened role in transparency and social audits

Conclusion

The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 aims to improve rural employment in India. It enhances guaranteed jobs, promotes digital governance, aligns projects with national goals, and supports sustainable growth, addressing past weaknesses in MGNREGA.