The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G] Act, 2025 marks a major step towards ensuring employment, strengthening rural livelihoods and accelerating the development of villages across the country, Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said.
Union Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, today launched the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 at Mukkavaripalle village in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Chouhan said the scheme aims to ensure that no poor labourer remains without work and that every hand gets employment. He thanked Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for introducing the scheme and said employment under the programme has been enhanced from 100 days to 125 days.
The Union Minister said the Central Government has allocated 95,600 crore rupees for the scheme this year, while the States will contribute their share, taking the total outlay to 1,51,282 crore rupees. He said the funds will generate employment for rural labourers, promote village development and contribute to the vision of a developed India.
Highlighting the government’s commitment to rural welfare, Mr. Chouhan said the NDA Government has substantially increased investment in rural employment over the past decade. He added that under the new scheme, no worker anywhere in the country will receive less than 300 rupees per day, with the wage currently fixed at 312 rupees per day.
The Union Minister said an expenditure of 7.50 lakh crore rupees will be made under the scheme over the next five years, enabling every Gram Panchayat to receive, on an average, more than 2 crore rupees every year. He said employment must be provided within 15 days of demand, failing which unemployment allowance will be paid.
He added that delayed payment of wages will also attract compensation to ensure labourers receive the full value of their hard work. He further said administrative expenditure has been increased from 6 per cent to 9 per cent to ensure timely payment of salaries to Gram Rozgar Sahayaks and other field-level staff.
Mr. Chouhan said development works under the scheme will be decided through Gram Sabhas, while States will have the flexibility to provide additional support to backward Panchayats. He also announced that Andhra Pradesh will receive 7,707 crore rupees from the Centre over the next nine months under the scheme. With the State Government’s contribution, the total expenditure is expected to exceed 10 thousand crore rupees.
The Union Minister also announced a series of development initiatives for Andhra Pradesh. He said a team of scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will work with the State Government to promote grafting technology and improve mango varieties. To support Totapuri mango farmers, he announced the procurement of 2,16,250 metric tonnes of Totapuri mangoes under the Market Intervention Scheme to ensure remunerative prices for farmers.
Mr. Chouhan further announced the sanction of more than 70,000 houses for Andhra Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. He also handed over approval letters for the construction of 146 rural roads and 19 bridges, with a sanctioned amount of 422 crore rupees, aimed at strengthening rural connectivity and infrastructure. Reaffirming the Centre’s commitment to the State’s development, he said no effort would be spared to ensure the overall development of Andhra Pradesh.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Konidela Pawan Kalyan, Union Ministers of State Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Kamlesh Paswan and other dignitaries were present.
