Winter Session 2025: Lok Sabha passes VB G RAM G Bill amid protests under Viksit Bharat 2047 vision

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, marking a major overhaul of rural employment policy by replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005. 

Introduced in the House on December 16, 2025, the VB G RAM G Bill is projected by the government as a modernised rural employment framework aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. The legislation guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household annually, up from the 100 days assured under MGNREGA, for adults willing to undertake unskilled manual work. 

Speaking during the debate, Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a swipe at the previous regime, saying, “Mahatma Gandhi’s name was added to NREGA with an eye on the 2009 elections.” 

Government sources argued that MGNREGA, enacted two decades ago, no longer reflects the changing realities of rural India. They pointed to declining poverty levels, improved digital access, and persistent challenges such as misuse of funds, weak monitoring mechanisms, and creation of underperforming assets under the existing scheme. 

According to official data, ₹193.67 crore was misappropriated in FY 2024-25, while only 7.61% of rural households managed to complete 100 days of work under MGNREGA. The new law, the government said, aims to replace what it described as a “patchwork approach” with a more focused, accountable, and technology-driven system. 

One of the most significant changes introduced by the VB G RAM G Bill is a revised funding structure. While MGNREGA’s wage component was fully funded by the Centre, the new legislation proposes a 60:40 Centre-State funding split. This marks a departure from the earlier Centre-heavy models of 90:10 for northeastern and Himalayan states and Union Territories, and 75:25 for other states. 

The government maintained that the revised funding pattern would strengthen cooperative federalism, encourage greater state ownership, and allow better alignment with local development priorities. 

The Centre also claimed that the new Act would boost rural employment, incomes, and infrastructure, with priority given to water-related works, roads, and market infrastructure. These measures, it said, would enhance agricultural productivity and reduce distress-driven migration. Enhanced digital systems for planning, payments, and monitoring are expected to improve efficiency and transparency. 

However, the passage of the Bill triggered sharp opposition protests. Several opposition MPs staged a march inside the Parliament House complex, holding photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and demanding the withdrawal of the VB G RAM G Bill, accusing the government of dismantling a landmark social security programme.