India, May 12 -- The Centre on Monday announced that the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G) will come into force across the country from July 1, replacing the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGREGA).

The new Act will have a fresh framework that promises 125 days of statutory wage employment to rural households, it said. In a statement, the Ministry of Rural Development described it as a "historic transition" in India's rural development architecture, aligned with the vision of "Viksit Bharat @2047".

The Act seeks to usher in a "future-ready and productivity-oriented rural transformation" while strengthening livelihood security, rural incomes and villag...