The Act will come into force on 1 July, 2026 and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 will stand repealed.
- To ensure seamless transition, existing e-KYC verified MGNREGA Job Cards shall remain valid until Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are issued.
Salient Features of the VB-G RAM G Act
- Viksit Bharat @2047 Alignment: Shifts towards integrated rural development and durable asset creation.
- Thematic Public Works: Prioritizes four areas- water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related assets, and extreme weather mitigation.
- Tech-Enabled Governance: Integrates face authentication for attendance, GIS, AI-enabled analytics, real-time dashboards, and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
- Participatory Planning: Execution relies on bottom-up Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs) seamlessly integrated into the Viksit Bharat-National Rural Infrastructure Stack (VB-NRIS).
Key Statutory Provisions
- Centrally Sponsored Scheme: Shared responsibilities between Centre and States.
- Enhanced Guarantee: Mandates a statutory 125 days of guaranteed unskilled wage employment per rural household annually.
- Prompt Payments & Penalties: Wages must be paid weekly or within 15 days from closure of muster rolls; delays incur a daily compensation rate of 0.05% of unpaid wages.
- Unemployment Allowance: If employment not provided within 15 days, mandates an allowance at one-fourth of the notified wage for the first 30 days, and one-half thereafter.
- Agricultural Balance: Empowers States to notify up to a 60-day pause during peak sowing/harvesting seasons to secure farm labour.
