New Delhi: The Union Cabinet cleared a Bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and expand the number of guaranteed workdays under the rural employment scheme, sources said on Friday.

Under the proposed legislation, the flagship programme will be rechristened Poojya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojna. At the same time, the annual guaranteed employment under the scheme will be raised from the current 100 days to 125 days, according to sources familiar with the decision.

MGNREGA, also known as NREGA, is one of the Centre’s most significant social welfare initiatives, aimed at strengthening livelihood security in rural India. The scheme guarantees wage employment to rural households whose adult members are willing to undertake unskilled manual labour during a financial year.

Introduced through an Act of Parliament in 2005, the rural employment guarantee scheme has played a key role in generating employment, supporting rural incomes, and providing a safety net for millions of households across the country.

PTI inputs