VB-G RAM G Act, 2025
In one line: The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 replaced MGNREGA and guarantees 125 days of wage work a year to rural households.
Main features
Parliament passed the Act in December 2025 and the President gave assent on 21 December 2025. It repeals the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. Adult members of rural households who volunteer for unskilled manual work are guaranteed 125 days of wage employment per financial year, up from 100. Each State gets a normative allocation; spending beyond it is borne by the State. Costs are shared 60:40 between the Centre and most States, with a more favourable ratio for the north-eastern region. States can notify up to 60 days a year, in peak sowing and harvest seasons, when work is paused so that farm labour is available.
Rollout
Draft rules were published in late May 2026 for comments, and the new programme replaced MGNREGA from 1 July 2026. The grievance rules of 2 November 2026 are one of the sets of rules made under it.
Where to go next
- Social audit
- Delegated legislation and draft rules
VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 in the news
- Centre notifies VB-G RAM G grievance rules with 15-day deadline, drops draft safeguards 3 November 2026
The new rural employment law that replaced MGNREGA.
- Rural jobs scheme app gets AI checks, liveness detection to stop fake attendance 24 October 2026
The law that replaced MGNREGA and sets the work guarantee.
- Op-ed: Is the right to work fading under the new rural jobs law? 1 September 2026
What the new law changes
Previous-year questions on this
- 2026 · GS2 · 15 marks Can the constitutional mandate of rights-based welfare be effectively realised in the context of non-integrated governance and minimal public investment? Examine.
- 2025 · GS4 · 20 marks Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program, MGNREGA was earlier known as National Rural Employment Scheme, NREGA. It is an Indian Social Welfare Program that aimed at fulfilling the…
- 2022 · GS2 · 15 marks Besides the welfare schemes, India needs deft management of inflation and unemployment to serve the poor and the underprivileged sections of the society. Discuss.
- 2019 · GS2 · 15 marks Performance of welfare schemes that are implemented for vulnerable sections is not so effective due to the absence of their awareness and active involvement at all stages of the policy process…
- 2018 · GS2 · 15 marks The Citizen's Charter is an ideal instrument of organisational transparency and accountability, but it has its own limitations. Identify the limitations and suggest measures for greater…
- 2018 · GS2 · 10 marks E-governance is not only about utilisation of the power of new technology, but also much about the critical importance of the 'use value' of information. Explain.