VB-G RAM G Bill will establish rural development framework for 'Viksit Bharat': Govt

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) The Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB G RAM G) Bill, 2025, seeks to establish a rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, the Rural Development Ministry said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the ministry said the Bill, which provides a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work, will promote empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat.

"This landmark legislation aims to establish a future-ready, convergence driven, saturation-oriented rural development architecture. It will support the accelerated pace of rural development in accordance with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, thereby empowering the rural households through increased employment opportunities," it said.

The Bill provides for institutionalising convergence of all relevant schemes through a unified planning process anchored in Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, aggregated into 'Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack'.

According to the ministry, the Bill provides for robust transparency and accountability mechanisms through technology-enabled architecture and enforcement via legal and administrative provisions.

It said all works under this Bill will be identified through 'Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans' (VGPPs), which are bottom-up, convergence-based and saturation-oriented.

"These plans will be aggregated at the block, district and state levels to ensure alignment with broader sectoral priorities, thereby creating a unified, Whole-of-Government rural development framework. The VGPPs will be prepared using spatial technology and integrated with PM Gati Shakti to enable coordinated and efficient planning," it said.

The scheme will also empower states to notify in advance periods aggregating to 60 days in a financial year during which works under the Bill shall not be undertaken, in order to facilitate the availability of farm labour during peak sowing and harvesting seasons.

The state governments will be required to prepare a scheme for giving effect to the guarantee proposed under this Bill, within six months of the commencement of the Act. It will operate as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a fund sharing pattern of 90:10 for northeastern and Himalayan states and Union territories, and 60:40 for all other states.

It provides for normative allocations to states by the Centre based on certain parameters. Any expenditure incurred by a state in excess would be borne by the state government, according to the statement.

The ministry said states will ensure transparent and need-based intrastate distribution of funds across districts and gram panchayats, taking into account the category of panchayats and local developmental needs, thereby strengthening equity, transparency and accountability.

The Bill mandates a comprehensive governance ecosystem built on digital public infrastructure, including biometric authentication, spatial-technology-enabled planning and monitoring, mobile-based reporting with real-time dashboards, AI-enabled analytics and strengthened social audit mechanisms, ensuring transparent, efficient and high-integrity implementation.

Gram panchayats will have to convene weekly disclosure meetings in gram panchayat bhavans to present the status of works, payments, grievances, progress of the works and muster rolls etc. In addition, weekly disclosures shall be automatically generated and displayed in a publicly accessible physical and digital formats.

Under the Bill, wage rates will be notified by the Centre and until such notification, the existing MGNREGA wage rates will continue to apply. The Bill also provides for unemployment allowance, to be paid by the state governments, if employment is not provided within 15 days at prescribed rates.

The ministry said the expanding scale of development interventions is expected to create additional employment opportunities for rural households.

"It is imperative to engage the rural workforce more effectively to support the vision of Viksit Bharat, while empowering them through enhanced livelihood guarantee.

"Therefore, the Government has resolved to enhance the wage-employment guarantee for rural households from one hundred days to one hundred and twenty-five days per financial year for anchoring rural asset creation through the enactment of an appropriate Act," it added.

The VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, which seeks to replace the existing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid strong objections by the opposition to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name from it. PTI AO DIV DIV