The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha today. The Bill will replace the twenty-year-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA). Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan moved the Bill to establish a modern statutory framework aligned with Viksit Bharat 2047, guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment per rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Mr Chouhan said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several welfare schemes are being implemented for the upliftment of the poor.
He said, during the UPA government, an amount of two lakh 13 thousand crore rupees was spent on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), while the Modi government has spent over eight lakh 53 thousand crore rupees on the scheme and has made sustained efforts to further strengthen it.
Mr Chouhan said through this new bill, the government has proposed to increase the guaranteed days of employment from hundred days to 125 days. He said, a provision of more than one lakh 51 thousand crore rupees has been made under this bill. The Minister emphasized that the bill will ensure comprehensive development of villages and help in building self-reliant and developed rural areas. He said, the government is working towards realising Mahatma Gandhi’s vision and establishing the Ram Rajya that Bapu had envisioned.
During the introduction of the Bill, Various members of the opposition parties, including Congress, DMK and TMC, opposed the introduction of the bill. The opposition members also trooped into the well and raised slogans demanding the withdrawal of the Bill. Due to the ruckus, the Speaker adjourned the House till 2:00 PM.
Akashwani Correspondent Reports
The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB – G RAM G Bill represents a major upgrade over MGNREGA, fixing structural weaknesses while enhancing employment, transparency, planning, and accountability. It will also strengthen the rural economy through productive asset creation, higher incomes, and better resilience. The old framework no longer matched today’s rural economy. With stronger social protection, better connectivity, deeper digital access and more diverse rural livelihoods, the new legislation aims to create both employment and durable rural infrastructure through four priority verticals. These are water security through water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and Special works to mitigate extreme weather events. The new bill aims to provide labourers with higher guaranteed workdays, better wages, stronger protections and more transparent implementation mechanisms.
