New Delhi, 18 December (H.S.): Amid uproar and slogan-shouting in the Lok Sabha, the “Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rural Employment and Livelihood Mission” (VB-G Ram Ji) Bill, 2025, was passed on Thursday through a voice vote. The legislation aims to ensure employment security and sustainable livelihood opportunities in India’s rural belt. Following the passage of the Bill, the Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the rest of the day.
The proposed Bill is intended to replace the existing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005. Under this new rural employment framework, every rural household will be assured 125 days of guaranteed employment annually, focusing on development-oriented activities.
The funding pattern will include 60 percent contribution from the Centre and 40 percent from the states, while hill states will receive a 90-10 cost sharing ratio.Debate on the Bill continued till around 1:30 a.m.
on Wednesday night, and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan responded to the detailed discussion earlier today. However, the session witnessed constant protests and sloganeering by opposition MPs, many of whom walked into the Well of the House.
In his reply, Minister Chouhan highlighted shortcomings in the MGNREGA, asserting that several states had disproportionately spent funds on labor rather than material purchases. He said that under the new Mission, substantial financial provisions have been made.
“Through the allocation of this massive fund,” Chouhan said, “we aim not only to create better employment opportunities and generate new jobs but also to ensure effective utilization of these resources for developing ‘Viksit Bharat Model Villages’ across the nation.”
The Minister added that in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Developed Bharat Model’, villages would become self-reliant, employment-rich, poverty-free, and equipped with modern amenities. He emphasized that these villages would offer quality education, skill development centers, digital classrooms, libraries, training hubs, computer laboratories, and other facilities to ensure that no child is left behind in education.
Responding to the controversy over the name of the Bill, Chouhan reminded the House that employment guarantee schemes had existed long before MGNREGA. He pointed out that in 2009, Mahatma Gandhi’s name was added to NREGA for electoral purposes.
Countering Priyanka Gandhi’s allegations, he listed several earlier schemes that carried the names of Nehru and Gandhi family members. Chouhan accused the Congress Party of disregarding Gandhian ideals, saying, It was Congress that accepted the partition of India and ignored Mahatma Gandhi’s call to dissolve the party after independence.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
