Women’s Participation in Rural Jobs Tops 50% as New Law Expands Work Guarantee

The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 significantly expands the statutory employment guarantee by increasing assured wage employment from 100 days to at least 125 days per rural household per financial year.

Women continue to play a central role in India’s rural employment framework, with their participation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) remaining consistently above 50% over the last three financial years, including the current 2025–26 financial year, the Government informed the Lok Sabha today.

The update was shared by the Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri Kamlesh Paswan, in a written reply, highlighting how the newly enacted Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G Act) further strengthens employment security, particularly for women and women-headed households in rural India.

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Employment Guarantee Expanded to 125 Days

The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 significantly expands the statutory employment guarantee by increasing assured wage employment from 100 days to at least 125 days per rural household per financial year.

Key provisions include:

• A stronger statutory unemployment allowance if work is not provided within the stipulated time

• Allowance rates linked to notified wage rates

• Time-bound wage payments, enhancing income predictability

These measures are aimed at improving household income stability, supporting food security, and enabling consumption smoothing for rural families.

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Focus on Durable Assets and Climate Resilience

The Act reorients rural employment towards long-term development by prioritising works under four broad themes:

• Water security

• Core rural infrastructure

• Livelihood infrastructure

• Mitigation of extreme weather events

Through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans and convergence with other schemes, wage employment is closely linked to asset creation, infrastructure gap saturation and sustainable livelihood enhancement.

Livelihood-focused assets include:

• Rural haats and storage structures

• Work sheds and SHG buildings

• Livestock and fisheries infrastructure

• Nurseries, compost and vermi-compost units

These assets directly generate income, strengthen agriculture, improve market access and promote local enterprises.

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Strong Women-Centric Provisions

The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 has been designed as a gender-inclusive legislation, with multiple provisions to enhance women’s participation, safety and leadership:

• Mandatory minimum one-third participation of women, with special focus on women-headed households and single women through special job cards

• Priority for individual assets for women-headed households under Schedule I of the Act

• Dedicated Schedule of Rates for women to support productive participation

• Crèche facilities at worksites where five or more children below five years accompany working women

• Encouragement for women to serve as Mates, supervising works and ensuring quality and transparency

Women are also empowered through active roles in social audits, helping ensure proper implementation and timely payments.

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Institutional Representation and Protection

The Act mandates one-third representation of women in:

• The Central Rojgar Guarantee Council

• State Rojgar Guarantee Councils

In addition, grievance redressal mechanisms under the Act explicitly address issues such as discrimination, harassment and violation of worker rights, with special protection for women and other vulnerable groups.

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Strengthening Livelihoods, Not Reducing Jobs

The Government clarified that the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 does not dilute employment guarantees. Instead, it expands job availability for all categories of beneficiaries, strengthens legal entitlements, and aligns rural employment with sustainable livelihood creation and climate-resilient development.

With women already forming the majority of the workforce under rural employment schemes, the expanded guarantee framework is expected to further empower women, strengthen self-help groups, and accelerate inclusive rural growth under the vision of Viksit Bharat.