India Bill Seeks to Replace MGNREGA with 125-Day Guarantee

The Indian Union government has circulated a bill in Parliament to repeal the longstanding Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005 and replace it with a new framework aimed at enhancing rural livelihoods. The proposed Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin Bill, 2025, would increase the guaranteed annual wage employment for rural households from 100 days to 125 days, officials said on Monday.

The legislation, shared among Lok Sabha members, seeks to establish a rural development structure aligned with the national goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047. It would provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of unskilled manual work each financial year to rural households where adult members volunteer for such labor. The focus would include public works to build infrastructure related to water security, core rural facilities, livelihoods, and measures against extreme weather events, forming what the bill describes as a "Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack." The bill is expected to be introduced during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, which runs from December 1 to 19.

Under the current MGNREGA, enacted in 2005 and...