Overview
- Rural Development Ministry officials say verified MGNREGA job cards will be accepted during the transition to the new law, with about 75% of cards already verified.
- The Centre is drafting rules and will notify a start date, after which states will have six months to frame their own schemes, while existing MGNREGA projects continue.
- VB-G RAM G raises the guarantee to 125 days of work and retains a demand-driven structure with unemployment allowance provisions and penalties on states for non-provision of work.
- The framework leans on digital and geospatial tools such as an e-measurement book, Yuktdhara and PM Gati Shakti integration, plus weekly public disclosures and strengthened social audits.
- A government vigilance audit flagged extensive past irregularities under MGNREGA as ministers tout anti-corruption safeguards, even as opposition parties plan protests and researchers warn of risks to women’s access to paid work; local awareness drives have begun in places like Vidisha.