New Delhi

President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday accorded assent to the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, giving legal backing to a major overhaul of India’s rural employment framework, the President’s Secretariat said.

With the President’s approval, the legislation comes into force as an Act that replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, and aligns rural employment policy with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. The new law increases the statutory guarantee of wage employment for rural households to 125 days per financial year, up from the earlier 100 days.

The Act seeks to move beyond a standalone welfare approach by integrating employment generation with long-term rural development. It focuses on empowerment, inclusive growth, convergence of government initiatives and saturation-based delivery of infrastructure and services, aimed at building a resilient and self-reliant rural economy.

Under the law, rural households with adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work are entitled to at least 125 days of guaranteed employment annually. States have been given the flexibility to notify a combined pause of up to 60 days in a year to manage labour availability during peak agricultural seasons, without reducing the overall entitlement.

The Act also strengthens wage security by mandating weekly payments or, at the latest, payment within 15 days of completion of work. Delays beyond this period will attract compensation. Employment under the programme will be linked to the creation of durable public assets in priority areas such as water security, core rural infrastructure and livelihood-related facilities.

Planning will continue to be decentralised, with all works originating from Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans prepared through participatory processes and approved by Gram Sabhas. These plans will be digitally integrated with national platforms to improve coordination and avoid duplication, while retaining local decision-making authority.

Implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme, the programme will follow a 60:40 cost-sharing pattern between the Centre and states, with higher central support for northeastern and Himalayan states and full funding for Union Territories without legislatures. The administrative expenditure cap has been raised to 9 per cent to strengthen institutional capacity and on-ground implementation.

READ MORE: Young bride Mrs Yasim taught me differences can be celebrated

The government said the Act reinforces, rather than dilutes, the right to demand employment, restores unemployment allowance as a meaningful safeguard, and uses technology to enhance transparency and accountability. Overall, the legislation is positioned as a renewed and strengthened rural employment guarantee, aimed at generating income security while creating productive, climate-resilient assets for long-term rural prosperity.