Rajya Sabha has taken up discussion on Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): Viksit Bharat – G RAM G Bill 2025 for consideration and passing. The Bill seeks to establish a rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. Under the legislation, a statutory guarantee of one hundred and twenty-five days of wage employment will be provided in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work. The fund-sharing pattern between the central government and state governments will be 60:40 for all states other than the North-eastern and the Himalayan states, wherein the sharing arrangement will be 90:10. The state government will continue to pay unemployment allowance and compensation.
Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan moved the Bill in the House. Initiating the discussion, Mukul Wasnik of Congress opposed the Bill, claiming that it will have an adverse effect on crores of people. He said everyone should work together for the upliftment of the nation’s poor. BJP MP Indu Bala Goswami said 70 percent of the nation’s population resides in villages, and this Bill is aimed towards improving their lives. She added that the Bill will help build a Viksit Bharat. Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD opposed the Bil,l alleging that it is a piece of legislation which has ignored the consultation door. He criticised the proposed fund-sharing pattern between the central government and state governments of 60:40
TMC MP Ritabrata Banerjee asked why wider consultations with States and all stakeholders were not held before bringing the Bill. S Niranjan Reddy of YSRCP said the Bill needs deeper introspection, and it should be sent to a Select Committee. Subhasish Khuntia of BJD said the 60:40 fund-sharing pattern will be a burden for poorer states. Dr M Thambidurai of AIADMK said employment in rural India is a question of livelihood, security, and social stability. He said any reform in such a crucial law must be examined with seriousness and responsibility. He said the most significant and welcome feature of this Bill is the increase in the guaranteed number of employment days from 100 to 125 in a financial year.
The discussion is underway.
