Overview
- The new law is in force after presidential assent, raising the statutory guarantee to 125 days per rural household and allowing up to 60 days of suspended works during peak agricultural periods.
- Funding moves to a uniform 60:40 Centre–state share for general states and 90:10 for hilly and north‑eastern states, with annual central normative allocations beyond which states must pay in full.
- Indian Express analysis suggests states’ wage and material bills would have climbed to about Rs 41,494 crore under the new rules in FY25, and delivering 125 days could nearly double overall programme costs.
- Implementation steps are underway, with Telangana conducting village surveys from December 26–31 to identify 2026–27 works using gram sabha plans and women self‑help groups.
- Opposition-led states and civil-society coalitions are mobilising political campaigns and preparing court challenges, while government backers call the shift an evidence‑based update focused on durable assets and tighter monitoring.