Revised Wage Rates under VB-G RAM G Act, 2025

Revised Wage Rates under VB-G RAM G Act, 2025

Why in News?

Recently, the Central Government notified revised wage rates under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, introducing a ₹300 daily minimum base wage.

What is the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025?

• About: The Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025 is a landmark rural employment legislation that replaces the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.
  • It act provides 125 days of guaranteed unskilled wage employment per rural household, linking rural development with the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision. 
• Objective: Its objective is shifting focus from basic welfare to infrastructure-led growth, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihood generation. 
• Background: The act succeeds the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which was firstly introduced in 2005 to guarantee 100 days of employment.
  • Evolving rural dynamics the VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 16, 2025. 
  • After rigorous debate, the legislation was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 18, 2025. 
  • It was subsequently passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 18, 2025, and received Presidential assent on December 20, 2025. 
• Enactment: The act was enacted and officially brought into force across all rural areas of India on July 1, 2026.
• Implementation: The Ministry of Rural Development is the apex implementation authority, in tandem with State Departments and local Gram Panchayats. 
• Provisions: 
  • 60-Day Work Pause: To ensure availability of agricultural labour, no work shall be executed during an aggregated 60-day pause period notified for peak sowing and harvesting seasons. The 125 days of work are guaranteed during the remaining period. 
  • Fund Sharing Pattern: The financial liability operates on a normative funding ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and most states.
    • For North Eastern, Himalayan states, and Union Territories, the funding ratio is 90:10.
  • Availability: Unlike the universal coverage under MGNREGA, employment under the new Act will be available only in rural areas notified by the Union Government. 
  • Four Priority Verticals: Employment creation is strategically integrated with durable rural infrastructure development across four verticals: water conservation, rural connectivity, livelihood infrastructure, and climate resilience projects.
  • Decentralized Planning: Planning and execution are decentralized through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, aim to saturate local development requirements in systemic alignment with state and national master plans. 
  • Technology-Driven Governance: The framework makes digital attendance, face authentication, and geo-tagging at worksites mandatory.
    • This drives digital governance and the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack ensures transparency. 
  • Unemployment Allowance: If an applicant is not provided employment within 15 days of demanding work, the state government is legally mandated to pay them an unemployment allowance. 
  • Weekly Wage Disbursement: The act mandates the disbursement of daily wages on a weekly basis, or no later than a fortnight through DBT. If delayed beyond 16 days, compensation must be provided to the wage seekers.
  • Social Audit: The Gram Sabha must conduct mandatory social audits of worksites to ensure accountability.
    • The act requires local bodies to make all muster rolls, bills, and digital records fully available for public scrutiny. 

Highlights of Revised Wage Rates under VB-G RAM G Act, 2025

• Nationwide Revision: The Central Government has notified revised wage rates under Section 10 of the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025. Wage rates have been increased across all 34 States/UTs and wage regions, replacing the earlier MGNREGA rates. 
• Minimum Wage Benchmark: A uniform interim base wage of ₹300 per day has been introduced for rural unskilled workers.
  • Twenty-one States/UTs that earlier had wages below ₹300 have been raised to this benchmark, reducing long-standing regional wage disparities. 
  • The national average notified wage has increased from ₹298.8 under MGNREGA to ₹327.4 per day under the VB-G RAM G framework, representing an average increase of ₹28.6 or over 10% nationwide. 
• Benchmark Wage: States such as Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur and Ladakh now receive the uniform ₹300 daily wage.
• Highest Wage: The highest notified wages include Haryana ₹409, Goa ₹406, Kerala ₹401, Karnataka ₹349, and Punjab ₹336, reflecting historically higher rural wage structures and inflation-linked revisions. 
• Moderate Wage: Several States fall in the intermediate wage band, including Andhra Pradesh ₹307, Rajasthan ₹308, Maharashtra ₹312, Gujarat ₹316, Himachal Pradesh ₹328, and Jammu & Kashmir ₹329. 

Socio-Economic Impact

• Stronger Rural Income Security: The Act increases the statutory employment guarantee while revising the minimum daily wage to ₹300. This combination is expected to provide greater income stability, reduce seasonal unemployment, and improve the financial resilience of vulnerable rural households. 
• Higher Rural Consumption Demand: An increase in guaranteed workdays and wages is expected to raise household purchasing power, stimulating expenditure on food, healthcare, education, clothing and consumer goods.
  • Higher rural demand can generate multiplier effects across local markets and support broader economic growth. 
• Improved Livelihood Resilience: The Act shifts from short-term relief to sustainable livelihood creation through durable assets such as water conservation, irrigation, rural roads and climate-resilient infrastructure, strengthening long-term rural productivity beyond wage employment.
• Women’s Economic Empowerment: The legislation mandates at least one-third participation of women, prioritises women-headed households.
  • It promotes creation of SHG infrastructure, nurseries, livestock facilities and rural markets, enhancing female labour-force participation. 
• Reduction in Rural Distress Migration: By guaranteeing 125 days of local employment with higher wages, the Act aims to reduce seasonal migration to urban areas, allowing workers to remain within their villages while supporting local economies. 
• Strengthened Financial Inclusion: Mandatory Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into bank or post-office accounts, along with statutory provisions for weekly or within-15-day wage payments, promotes formal financial inclusion and reduces payment leakages. 
• Economic Transformation: The legislation shifts rural employment from a welfare-centric approach to a development-oriented framework, linking employment generation with durable public assets and national vision.

Other Government Initiatives to Promote Rural Employment Growth 

• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM): Launched in 2011, DAY-NRLM promotes Self-Help Groups (SHGs), financial inclusion and rural entrepreneurship.
  • It has mobilized over 10 crore rural women into nearly 91 lakh SHGs, with cumulative bank credit exceeding ₹11 lakh crore. 
• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY): Started in 2014, DDU-GKY provides placement-linked skill training for rural youth.
  • The programme has trained over 17 lakh candidates and facilitated more than 11 lakh placements, improving rural employability. 
• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) – 2015: Launched in 2015, PMKSY promotes efficient irrigation under the motto “Har Khet Ko Pani” and “Per Drop More Crop”, improving water-use efficiency, agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes. 
• SVAMITVA Scheme: Introduced in 2020, SVAMITVA provides property cards to rural households using drone surveys. It strengthens property rights, facilitates institutional credit and reduces land disputes, promoting rural economic empowerment.
• Lakhpati Didi Initiative: Launched in 2023, the initiative aims to help 3 crore SHG women earn over ₹1 lakh annually.
  • By 2025, around 1.5 crore women had already achieved the Lakhpati Didi milestone through diversified livelihood activities. 

FAQs:

1. What is the new minimum daily wage under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025?
   The revised minimum base wage is ₹300 per day, effective from 1 July 2026. 
2. When did the revised wage rates come into effect?
   The revised wage rates became effective from 1 July 2026, alongside nationwide implementation of the Act. 
3. How many days of employment does the Act guarantee?
   The Act guarantees 125 days of unskilled wage employment annually for every eligible rural household.
4. How are wage rates determined under the Act?
   The Centre notifies state-specific wage rates using annual indexation and a transparent methodology with a ₹300 minimum. 
5. How and when are wages paid to workers?
   Wages are paid through DBT, weekly or within 15 days after muster roll closure.

Disclaimer: Information in this article is based on official announcements and public records. Regulations and implementation details may evolve over time.