Parliament approved the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, on December 18-19, effectively repealing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005 and establishing a revamped statutory framework guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment annually to rural households volunteering for unskilled manual work.

Introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 16 and cleared by both Houses amid intense debate, the legislation transitions the scheme to a centrally sponsored model with a revised funding pattern, emphasising convergence with other programmes, creation of durable assets in thematic areas such as water security and rural infrastructure, and integration into a national rural infrastructure stack aligned with Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

Opposition parties vehemently criticised the bill for removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from the iconic programme, accusing the government of insulting his legacy, diluting demand-driven guarantees, imposing greater financial burdens on states through altered cost-sharing, and rushing passage without referral to a standing committee.

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Protests intensified within Parliament as opposition members tore copies of the bill, raised slogans, staged walkouts in the Rajya Sabha, and subsequently held an overnight dharna outside the Samvidhan Sadan complex, vowing nationwide agitations against what they termed an assault on rural livelihoods and constitutional rights.

The government, led by Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, defended the reforms as essential to address corruption, inefficiencies, and outdated elements in MGNREGA, asserting enhanced employment days, weekly wage payments, and focus on productive assets would strengthen income security and rural development while honouring Gandhian principles through tangible outcomes.

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