President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday gave her assent to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAM G) Bill, which replaces the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005
Apart from the omission of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme — a move strongly criticised by the Opposition — the new law increases the statutory wage employment guarantee for unskilled workers to 125 days in a financial year.
Here's a glimpse at the key differences between the new VB-G RAM G scheme and MGNREGA:
VB-G RAM G vs MGNREGA: Key differences
- Change in employment days: The VB-G RAM G scheme raises the number of guaranteed wage employment days in a financial year to 125 days. Under MGNREGA, the number of guaranteed days of employment was 100.
- Shift from full central funding: Under Section 22 of the Bill, the Centre and states will share funds in a 60:40 ratio. For North Eastern states, Himalayan states, and Union Territories such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, the sharing pattern will be 90:10. This distribution in funding departs from the MGNREGA model, where the wage component was fully funded by the Centre.
- Work availability: Under the new law, there would be a 60-day pause in the scheme during the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting, a move said to be aimed at ensuring farm labour availability.
- Supply driven vs demand driven: MGNREGA was widely recognised for its demand-driven, rights-based approach, under which rural households could seek employment as needed and were entitled to compensation if work was not provided. In contrast, the new initiative is a supply-driven framework, where the allocations have been capped. Any excess expenditure will have to be borne by the state concerned. The Centre has earmarked ₹95,000 crore for the initiative.
- Change in managing body: MGNREGA was supervised by the Rural Development Ministry, while the VB G Ram G scheme would be managed by Central Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council.
- The VB-G RAM G also mandates a steeper penalty for violations of its provisions, raising the fine from the previous amount of ₹1,000 to ₹10,000.
- All works under the new scheme shall originate from the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans consolidated at the Block, District and State levels and further aggregated into the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack
Under the revamped scheme, the rural economy is expected to benefit from improved water security, rural infrastructure, livelihood assets, climate resilience, higher employment, and increased consumption. It also aims to reduce migration distress.
