Overview
- Lawmakers approved the Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, formally replacing the 2005 MGNREGA framework.
- The statute raises the guaranteed rural wage-employment entitlement from 100 to 125 days per fiscal year.
- Funding responsibilities shift to a 60:40 Centre–state spend-share for most states, moving away from the earlier central-heavy model.
- Core safeguards remain, including the unemployment allowance if work is not provided within 15 days, and states may pause works for up to 60 days during peak sowing and harvesting.
- Amitabh Kant cites CAG audits to argue for an evidence-based redesign toward durable assets, climate resilience and faster digital payments, even as Congress leaders denounce the overhaul and some residents in Reasi welcome the higher workdays.