India's Rural Jobs Scheme Gets Overhaul: 'G RAM G' to Replace MGNREGS

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The Indian government is set to introduce a new rural jobs scheme, the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB-G RAM G, to replace the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The proposed law aims to provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work. According to the bill, the financial liability will be shared between the Centre and the state governments in a 90:10 proportion for northeastern and Himalayan states, and 60:40 proportion for all other states and Union territories with a legislature. The Centre will determine state-wise normative allocation for each financial year, and any expenditure incurred by a state in excess will be borne by the state government. The new scheme proposes to pause the programme during the farming season to ensure availability of farm workers. It also proposes to focus on four major types of works: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure creation, and climate adaptation. The scheme will be managed by a Central Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council, formed by the Union government. Every state will also constitute a state council to be known as the State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council. The central government will also form a national level steering committee to recommend decisions relating to normative allocations to states. The opposition has criticized the government for dropping the name of Mahatma Gandhi from the flagship scheme. The Congress party has vowed to strongly oppose the new law and has accused the government of being against the poor and workers. The new scheme aims to strengthen the rural economy through higher incomes and better resilience, reduce distress migration with more rural opportunities, and provide better agricultural infrastructure and labour availability. If an applicant isn't provided employment within 15 days, he is entitled to a daily unemployment allowance. The proposed law is an attempt to address the structural weaknesses of the MGNREGS, which has been criticized for corruption, opaque processes, poor quality works, and long-delayed payments. The scheme will be a major overhaul of the existing system and will provide a more effective and efficient way of managing rural employment guarantee programmes.