Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 05:40pm on 23 Dec 2025,Tuesday India
India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, launched in 2005, guarantees rural households 100 days paid manual work annually now increased to 125 days under new G RAM G law. The rebranded program drops "Mahatma Gandhi" from its name and shifts funding from 90:10 federal-state split to 60:40, potentially pushing states' contribution to 40% of total project costs. While government touts modernization, critics warn capped funding could undermine a rare legal right. Despite serving 126 million workers over half women, 40% scheduled castes/tribes only 7% received full 100 days in 2023-24. Studies show the scheme boosted beneficiary earnings 14%, cut poverty 26%, but highlights India's chronic non-farm job creation failure. (PC: BBC)
