MGNREGS Set to Be Renamed as ‘Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana’

The federal government is more likely to introduce a Invoice within the ongoing Winter session of Parliament amending the Mahatma Gandhi Nationwide Rural Employment Assure Act (MGNREGA), altering the title of the flagship rural employment scheme to “Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana”.

Based on senior authorities functionaries, the amended Invoice was cleared by the Union Cupboard in its assembly held on Friday (December 12, 2025). There was no official announcement on the proposal on the Cupboard briefing addressed by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The unique Invoice handed by Parliament on August 25, 2005 was referred to as “Nationwide Rural Employment Assure Act”. The suffix “Mahatma Gandhi” was added in 2009.

The flagship rural employment scheme ensures as much as 100 days of wage employment in each monetary yr to each family whose grownup members volunteer to do unskilled handbook work. The sources additionally indicated that the federal government plans to extend this to 125 days.

As per a written reply by the Minister of State for Rural Growth Kamlesh Paswan on Friday (December 12, 2025) in Rajya Sabha, the typical variety of days of employment per family over the past 5 years involves 50.35 days. Mr. Paswan additionally famous that the scheme is a “fallback choice when no higher employment alternative is accessible”.

In 2022, the federal government had appointed a panel headed by former Union Rural Growth Secretary Amarjeet Sinha to overview the scheme, particularly the inter-State variations, significantly decrease expenditure underneath the scheme in States with greater poverty charges, together with Bihar, in comparison with economically better-off States, together with Tamil Nadu.

The amended Invoice can also be more likely to bear in mind the panel’s advice, introducing exclusionary clauses based mostly on financial indices of a State.

The federal government can also be more likely to tweak the funding sample. At current, the Centre bears 100% of the scheme’s wage element.

Additionally learn | MGNREGS would proceed, however solely as a residing monument to failure Congress’ failure: PM Modi

The federal government may additionally introduce extra checks to keep away from conditions corresponding to extended standoff between the Centre and West Bengal authorities. The discharge of funds to West Bengal was stopped in March 2022 by the Centre owing to continued non-compliance with the directives of the Union authorities by the State. The Centre on December 6, 2025 issued orders for resumption of the scheme within the State following a Calcutta Excessive Court docket order “topic to necessary compliance with the particular circumstances”.