On December 18, Parliament approved the VB-G RAM G Bill to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) despite opposition protests. The government faced criticism for not consulting stakeholders before passing the law. MGNREGA began in 2005 to provide rural households with 100 days of guaranteed work at fixed wages, becoming a lifeline for over 12 crore workers, more than half of whom are women. The scheme is praised for helping marginalized groups like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and supporting rural communities during COVID-19. Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan defended the new Bill, saying MGNREGA faced corruption and misuse by states. The VB-G RAM G Bill shifts from a demand-driven model to a supply-driven system where the central government sets a fixed budget and decides rural areas for the scheme. It increases guaranteed workdays to 125 but raises states' financial contribution from about 10% to 40% of total costs outside special states. Under the new rules, the Centre funds wages 90:10 in the northeast and Himalayan states but 60:40 in other regions. The Bill also allows suspending the programme during peak farm seasons to ensure labor availability. These changes mark a major shift in how rural employment will be guaranteed and controlled in India.