New Delhi, Dec 18: The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 during the ongoing winter session of Parliament.
The legislation restructures the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) into a revamped employment guarantee framework.
Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who had introduced the Bill earlier, moved it for consideration and passage. The Bill was formally tabled in Parliament on December 16.
The proposed law seeks to provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment annually for rural households. To support the initiative, the government has earmarked an allocation of ₹95,000 crore.
The Bill was passed by a voice vote amid strong protests from opposition members. Several MPs from opposition parties entered the well of the House, raised slogans against the government, tore copies of the Bill, and threw them towards the Speaker’s chair.
Following its passage in the Lok Sabha, the Bill will now be taken up in the Rajya Sabha.
Defending the legislation, Minister Chouhan accused the Congress of questioning the NDA government despite its own history of naming laws after former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
He said the opposition has an obsession with changing names, while the Narendra Modi-led government remains focused on delivery and performance.
Chouhan further alleged that MGNREGA had become a vehicle for corruption and stated that the new law was formulated after extensive consultations with stakeholders to ensure greater transparency and effectiveness.
