MGNREGA Replaced: President Assents to VB-G RAM G Act Amid Opposition Fury

New Delhi, December 22, 2025: In a historic move that has reshaped India’s social welfare landscape, President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday, December 21, 2025, granted her assent to the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill.

With the Presidential nod, the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) officially stands replaced. While the government hails this as a modernization of rural development, the Opposition has labeled it a “black law,” sparking nationwide protests.

What is the VB-G RAM G Act?

The new law is designed to align rural employment with the government’s “Viksit Bharat @2047” vision. It shifts the focus from a purely welfare-driven model to an integrated development strategy.

Key Features of the New Law:

• Increase in Workdays: The statutory guarantee for wage employment has been increased from 100 days to 125 days per financial year for rural households.
• Agricultural Pause: For the first time, state governments can notify a 60-day “pause” in public works during peak sowing and harvesting seasons to ensure the availability of agricultural labor.
• Shared Funding: Moving away from the 100% centrally funded wage model, the Act introduces a 60:40 Centre-State cost-sharing ratio (90:10 for Himalayan and NE states).
• Focused Infrastructure: Employment will now be strictly categorized into four verticals: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood assets, and climate resilience.

Why the “Opposition Fury”?

The passage of the Bill in Parliament was marked by high drama, including the tearing of Bill copies and an overnight dharna outside Samvidhan Sadan.

The Opposition’s primary grievances include:

1. Removal of Gandhi’s Name: Critics argue that dropping “Mahatma Gandhi” from the Act’s title is a political move to erase the legacy of the previous flagship scheme.
2. Fiscal Burden on States: Opposition leaders claim that the 60:40 funding split will bankrupt poorer states, potentially leading to the scheme’s collapse.
3. End of “Demand-Driven” Model: Advocates like Prashant Bhushan argue the new “budget-capped” approach ends the fundamental right to work on demand, making it dependent on government allocations.

What Comes Next?

With the Act now officially law, the following steps are expected in the coming months:

• State Implementation: Within the next six months, every State Government is required to prepare and notify a scheme consistent with the new Act.
• Tech Integration: The government will roll out the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, an AI-powered system for GPS monitoring and fraud detection to manage work sites.
• Nationwide Agitation: The Congress and other INDIA bloc parties have announced plans to take their protests from Parliament to the streets, vowing to compel the government to rethink the shared funding model.
• Legal Challenges: Legal experts suggest the Act may face challenges in the Supreme Court regarding the dilution of “rights-based” entitlements into “budget-driven” ones.

As the government prepares for a massive awareness campaign, the transition from MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G remains the most significant policy pivot in rural India since 2005.