The Indian government has announced the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, effective July 1. The new scheme aims to expand guaranteed wage employment and link it more closely with infrastructure development and climate resilience, but faces concerns from opposition parties and labour rights activists.
The Centre has notified draft rules for the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, outlining the framework for the new rural employment programme replacing MGNREGA. The draft rules are open for public feedback until June 21, 2026.
The Centre has announced that the Viksit Bharat -- Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act will come into force across the country from July 1, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
The Punjab Cabinet has approved a series of measures aimed at enhancing public safety through forensic science upgrades and boosting rural incomes with a new farm stay policy.
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the historic bill providing 100 days employment guarantee to every rural household in the country.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill moved in Lok Sabha
'India cannot speak of a demographic dividend if half its young women are unable to participate in paid work.'
Cash remains dominant for many transactions despite continued expansion in digital payments across the country.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, will be applicable to whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir, an official release said.
'MGNREGA was about a guaranteed right to work.' 'The new law does not guarantee employment at all.' 'It removes everything that made MGNREGA a legal guarantee.'
Punjab Police have successfully traced and returned over 12,000 lost mobile phones to their owners in the past year, utilising technical and data analysis. The recoveries, estimated to be worth between Rs 15 to Rs 20 crore, were made possible through initiatives like the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR).
The Union cabinet has approved a bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and increase the number of work days under the scheme.
The Uttar Pradesh government announced it has paid a record Rs 3,21,963 crore to sugarcane growers since 2017, emphasising on-time payments and direct transfers to farmers' accounts. The government highlighted initiatives like farm loan waivers and the 'Smart Ganna Kisan' system for online sugarcane management.
India's unincorporated non-agricultural sector, excluding construction and corporate enterprises, added approximately 7.5 million workers in a single year, reaching 128.1 million employed in 2025, according to the NSO's ASUSE 2025 report.
President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, which aims to replace MGNREGA and guarantee 125 days of wage employment per rural household.
The total expenditure on the MGNREGA programme, as per the revised estimates from 2025-26, was Rs 88,000 crore, while initially, a sum of Rs 86,000 crore was allocated.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost his cool and shouted at Youth Congress workers who raised slogans in favor of Deputy CM D K Shivakumar during a protest rally. The incident highlights the ongoing power dynamics within the Karnataka Congress.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
Timely payment under the MGNREGA is essential as it is a demand-driven scheme.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the ruling TMC in West Bengal, alleging corruption and appeasement politics, while promoting the BJP's development agenda ahead of the assembly elections.
India's unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 and older increased to 5.1 per cent in March 2026, up from 4.9 per cent in February, primarily due to a rise in joblessness in urban areas, according to government data.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has announced a 60-day mass outreach program targeting Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe-majority assembly constituencies in West Bengal, accusing the BJP of depriving the state of funds and disrespecting marginalized communities.
'Previously, contributing only 25 per cent of material costs, states now face burdens of 40 per cent to 100 per cent of total costs, ensuring poorer states will curb project approvals, directly stifling work demand.'
'Workers are the people who create all the wealth in this country. How can you call them anti-national?'
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
The Trinamool Congress government's massive defeat in West Bengal shows "deep anti-incumbency and unpopularity" as out of 35 ministers who contested the assembly elections, 22 have been defeated, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her constituency.
Civil society groups, led by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, are planning a nationwide protest -- similar to the farmers' stir a few years ago -- starting December 19 demanding scrapping of the new Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission.
It has raised rural consumption, created new markets and shored up growth when investment falters.
Congress leader K C Venugopal has accused the CPI(M) and BJP of forming a 'nexus' in the ongoing Kerala election, alleging a tacit understanding between the parties. He also highlighted the UDF's promises, including free KSRTC bus travel for women and increased welfare pensions.
Congress leader K C Venugopal has accused the CPI(M) and BJP of forming a nexus in the ongoing Kerala election, alleging a deal to help each other, while also highlighting the UDF's promises, including free bus travel for women and increased welfare pensions.
India's unemployment rate saw a marginal decrease in February 2026, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). The survey highlights changes in urban and rural unemployment rates, as well as labour force participation and worker population ratios.
Three officials from leading private banks have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 20, according to police reports.
Three officials from leading private banks have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 20.
Opposition members strongly opposed the proposed legislation at the introduction stage and pressed for sending the bill to a parliamentary panel for greater scrutiny. The MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi of the Congress, strongly objected to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name.
A bill to repeal the MGNREGA and introduce a new rural employment law, the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), has been circulated among Lok Sabha members.
Under the TMC, Bengal has seen expansion of welfare, but not big-ticket private investment.
Years after the Nano exit, Singur's farmers now seek industry and jobs, as the land remains caught between failed promises and political contest.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said he will travel to New Delhi if summoned by the Congress high command to discuss the leadership issue involving him and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticizes the government's proposed bill to replace MGNREGA, arguing it weakens the guaranteed 100 days of employment for the poor and centralizes control over the scheme.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has strongly criticised Aam Aadmi Party members who defected to the BJP, labelling them as 'traitors' and accusing the BJP of attempting to destabilise the AAP government in Punjab.
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