G RAM G to be new MGNREGA: How it differs from existing scheme and why opposition smells conspiracy | Explained

The government’s sweeping reform to replace the flagship MGNREGA with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (or VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 has become a flashpoint between the BJP and opposition in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

The G RAM G Bill proposes to increase the statutory guarantee of wage employment from 100 days to 125 days per financial year for every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work.

Moreover, unlike MGNREGA, which was fully funded by the Centre for wages and demand-driven, VB–G RAM G will be a centrally sponsored scheme. The cost sharing will be 60:40 between Centre and states for most states; 90:10 for northeastern and Himalayan states; and 100% central funding for Union Territories without legislatures.

Why opposition is up in arms

During a debate in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the bill to replace MGNREGA stands to "weaken" the original Act's guaranteed 100 days of employment to the poorest of the poor. MGNREGA was enacted in 2005 during the first term of the UPA government under Manmohan Singh.

Priyanka also criticised the Modi government over changing the name of the bill, saying she does not understand the ruling BJP’s “obsession” with renaming schemes.

"Firstly, the process of renaming schemes costs a lot of money to the country, so I don't understand why they are doing it," Priyanka Gandhi earlier told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

“Second, MGNREGA guaranteed 100 days of employment to the poorest of the poor, but the new bill will weaken this right under MGNREGA,” she said.

On Monday, Congress had strongly objected to the bill on replacing MGNREGA, saying erasing Mahatma Gandhi's name shows how "hollow and hypocritical" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gestures of paying homage to the Father of the Nation are.

The opposition party alleged that the G RAM G Bill, 2025 attacks the soul of rights-based guarantee by replacing it with a scheme "stacked against" the states and workers and defies the ideals of Mahatama Gandhi.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said this is not just about changing the name of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), but is a "conspiracy by the BJP-RSS to dismantle MGNREGA". "Erasing Gandhi's name on the centenary of the RSS shows how hollow and hypocritical Modi's gestures of paying homage to Bapu on foreign soil truly are," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.

Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor, whose stand has been at variance with that of his party on some occasions recently, said the controversy over renaming MGNREGA in the government's proposed new G-RAM-G Bill is unfortunate.

What the government says

Meanwhile, the Rural Development Ministry has described the Bill as a “major upgrade” over MGNREGA, aimed at fixing structural weaknesses while improving transparency, planning and accountability.

In the Statement of Objects and Reasons, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said MGNREGA had served rural India well over two decades, but “further strengthening has become necessary in view of the significant socio-economic transformation witnessed in the rural landscape”.

The ministry said digital attendance, digital payments and data-driven planning would improve efficiency, while biometric authentication, GPS-based monitoring and AI-led audits would curb misuse.

The government has also pointed to governance issues under MGNREGA, including misuse of funds, poor-quality assets and low completion of 100 days of work.

G Ram G vs MGNREGA: What are the key changes

Besides the name change, the bill, set to be introduced, proposes several key changes to the existing law.

At its core, the VB–G RAM G Bill increases the statutory guarantee of wage employment from 100 days to 125 days per financial year for every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work.

The Bill also seeks to shift rural employment from short-term wage support to durable infrastructure creation, organised under four priority verticals:

- Water security and water-related works

- Core rural infrastructure

- Livelihood-related infrastructure

- Special works to mitigate extreme weather events

All assets created under the scheme will be mapped into a unified digital platform called the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, linking village-level projects with national planning systems.

Within six months of the law coming into force, states will be required to frame schemes consistent with its provisions.

While MGNREGS was a demand-driven scheme with the Union government bound to allocate more money if demand for work was there, under the proposed scheme, the Centre would determine state-wise normative allocation for each financial year. Any expenditure incurred by a state in excess would be borne by the state government. The wage rate would be specified by the Central government through a notification. The Bill says it should not be less than the prevailing wage rates under the MGNREGS.

Until a wage rate is notified by the Centre, MGNREGS wage rates will continue to apply in the areas covered by the proposed law.

Moreover, unemployment allowance would be given if an applicant is not provided work within 15 days, which will have to be paid by the state government, according to the Bill.

The amount should not be less than one-fourth of the notified wage rate for the first 30 days during the financial year and not less than half of the wage rate for the remaining period of the financial year.

The Bill also provides for facilitating adequate availability of agricultural labour during peak agricultural seasons, and says the state shall notify a period covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting, during which works under this Act shall not be undertaken.