Rural Jobs Law Explained

Hyderabad: Minimum wages will be fully protected under the proposed Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, G. Narendra Kumar, director general of the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), said on Tuesday, amid concerns that it could dilute provisions of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The clarification was made at a one-day ‘Vartalap’ media workshop organised by the Press Information Bureau at the ICAR – National Academy of Agricultural Research Management in Hyderabad. The workshop sought to brief the proposed Act and address what officials described as misinformation surrounding it.

Kumar said minimum wages would be safeguarded under the proposed law. He said the Act aimed to strengthen rural infrastructure, improve access to basic amenities and support employment generation at the village level, while aligning local planning with national development goals.

He added that the framework sought to strengthen decentralised planning by formally involving all three tiers of Panchayati Raj institutions, with enhanced district-level monitoring. Rule-based allocations to States were also proposed to improve predictability in fund flows.

Gopal Lal, acting director of National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), said India faced agricultural labour shortages despite its large population, and that the proposed Act sought to facilitate re-engagement of labour in agriculture and allied rural activities.

Professor Jyothis Sathyapalan of the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj,said the proposed legislation should not be seen as a dilution of the existing rural employment law, but as a correction aimed at improving outcomes.