The Union government on Tuesday notified revised wage rates under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin Act, which came into effect on Wednesday. The VB-G Ram G Act replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

The government set the interim base wage at Rs 300 per day. This is the first time a wage floor has been set under the national rural employment guarantee programme.

The national average notified wage was increased 9.5% to Rs 327.4 per day under VB-G Ram G Act from Rs 298.8 per day under MGNREGA, the Hindustan Times reported.

To facilitate the rollout of the scheme, the government has released an interim allocation of Rs 95,692.3 crore to states and Union Territories for paying wage and making a transition from the first day of implementation, the Ministry of Rural Development said in a statement.

In May, the government announced that after VB-G Ram G comes into force on July 1, ongoing works under MGNREGA as on June 30 will be carried over in the new framework.

Existing e-KYC verified MGNREGA job cards will remain valid under the new Act until Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are issued, the ministry had said at the time.

The VB-G Ram G Act received presidential assent on December 21, two days after it was passed by Parliament amid protests by Opposition parties.

The MGNREGA, which was introduced in 2005 by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, guaranteed 100 days of unskilled work annually for every rural household that wanted it, covering all districts in the country.

Under the new law, the number of guaranteed workdays will increase to 125, while the states’ share of costs will rise to 40%. The Union government will continue to bear the wage component, with states sharing material and administrative expenses.

The legislation has drawn criticism from economists and labour rights experts, who have said that it consolidates decision-making with the Union government, while transferring greater financial burden on to the states.

Five Opposition-ruled states – Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Telangana and Jharkhand – have passed resolutions opposing the VB-G Ram G Act, and seeking that the MGNREGA scheme be restored.

Written by Tanya Shrivastava. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

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