KSK Partners Raise Concerns on Proposed VB-G RAM-G Framework
In a recent Moneycontrol article, our Partners expressed critical observations on the proposed VB-G RAM-G Bill, which seeks to reframe rural employment policy.
Deepika Kumari noted that the initiative represents a conceptual departure from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by shifting focus from wage-employment guarantees to an integrated livelihoods and skilling-oriented framework.
She emphasized that MGNREGA was designed as a rights-based entitlement, ensuring employment as a legal guarantee and limiting administrative discretion. Kumari cautioned that while convergence with entrepreneurship, self-employment, and asset creation could enhance long-term income sustainability, any dilution of statutory guarantees may raise concerns around enforceability, accountability, and inclusivity particularly for vulnerable households dependent on MGNREGA as a safety net.
Echoing similar concerns, Rohitaashv Sinha, stressed that if VB-G RAM-G is positioned as a replacement for MGNREGA, it would mark a fundamental shift in rural employment policy from a rights-based, demand-driven statutory guarantee to a mission-mode livelihoods framework. He highlighted that MGNREGA’s legal enforceability has historically provided assured wage employment during rural distress, curbing discretionary restrictions.
Rohitaashv also warned that weakening statutory employment guarantees risks undermining the social safety net for the most vulnerable rural households, underscoring the need for the new framework to preserve enforceable entitlements alongside developmental objectives.
The observations by Deepika and Rohitaashv underline the importance of balancing innovation in rural livelihood programs with the preservation of statutory protections that safeguard India’s most vulnerable communities.
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