President Draupadi Murmu approved VB-G RAM G Bill, now 125 days employment to rural families

New Delhi, 21 December. President Draupadi Murmu has assent to the Developed India-Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, paving the way for a major overhaul of India’s flagship rural employment programme. Additionally, the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has now been replaced by a new legal framework, aligned with the government’s India 2047 vision.

MGNREGA New legal framework found with change in name of

One of the biggest changes under the new law is to increase the legal employment guarantee for rural households from 100 days to 125 days every financial year. The government has described this as an extension of the benefits, noting that the earlier 100-day limit often acted as a hard limit rather than a minimum guarantee.

The bill also brings a major change in the funding architecture. Unlike MGNREGA, in which the wage share was fully funded by the central government, the VB-G RAM G framework entails shared financing between the Center and states.

The proposed funding pattern is 60:40, in which the center and the state will have a share

The proposed funding pattern is 60:40, with the Center and the state sharing the same. This will replace the earlier Centre-dominated model, which had a ratio of 90:10 for north-eastern and Himalayan states and 75:25 for the rest of the states. The government argues that this change will promote cooperative federalism and the states will get more power over the results.

For the first time, permission to stop employment for 60 days during peak season

For the first time, the Rural Employment Act allows suspension of employment for up to 60 days during peak sowing and harvesting seasons. Its objective is to ensure that there is adequate availability of labor for farming and to address the concerns of farmers regarding shortage of labor at the crucial time of farming.

Employment will be focused on these four fixed areas

The scope of permitted works has also been reduced. Under the VB-G RAM G Act, employment will focus on four key areas: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood assets, and climate resilience. The government has said that this will improve the quality and durability of properties built under this scheme.