Centre likely to scrap MGNREGA, bring new rural employment law
The government may bring a new law – the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)
- Dec 15, 2025,
- Updated Dec 15, 2025 1:35 PM IST
The Centre is likely to scrap the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which guarantees 100 days of wage employment to rural households every year. A bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament.
The government may bring a new law – the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin). The government circulated the Bill among the members of the Lok Sabha on Monday.
According to a copy, the bill is aimed at establishing a "rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, by providing a statutory guarantee of one hundred and twenty-five days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work; to promote empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat."
The MGNREGA programme, which was enacted in 2005 and rolled out from 2006, guarantees up to 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work. It was designed as a rights‑based, demand‑driven programme, meaning adults can demand work and the state is legally obliged to provide it within 15 days or pay unemployment allowance.
A budget of Rs 86,000 crore was allocated for MGNREGA in FY 2025–26, the highest since the scheme's inception. In the Current FY 2025-26, an amount of Rs 45,783 crore had been released under the scheme, the Centre informed in August this year. By FY 2024–25, women's participation in the programme had reached 58.15%.
The Centre is likely to scrap the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which guarantees 100 days of wage employment to rural households every year. A bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament.
The government may bring a new law – the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin). The government circulated the Bill among the members of the Lok Sabha on Monday.
According to a copy, the bill is aimed at establishing a "rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, by providing a statutory guarantee of one hundred and twenty-five days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work; to promote empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat."
The MGNREGA programme, which was enacted in 2005 and rolled out from 2006, guarantees up to 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work. It was designed as a rights‑based, demand‑driven programme, meaning adults can demand work and the state is legally obliged to provide it within 15 days or pay unemployment allowance.
A budget of Rs 86,000 crore was allocated for MGNREGA in FY 2025–26, the highest since the scheme's inception. In the Current FY 2025-26, an amount of Rs 45,783 crore had been released under the scheme, the Centre informed in August this year. By FY 2024–25, women's participation in the programme had reached 58.15%.