UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Stir against new rural jobs Act will be decentralised, says NREGA Morcha

Q1. Under the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (against which the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha is leading a decentralised agitation), what is the maximum number of days of paid unskilled manual work guaranteed to an eligible rural household in a financial year?

  • A. 100 days
  • B. 125 days
  • C. 150 days
  • D. 180 days

Q2. Which one of the following is the lead civil-society coalition that announced, in early 2026, a decentralised gram-panchayat-level agitation across India against the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025?

  • A. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)
  • B. Joint Platform for Agricultural and Rural Workers' Unions
  • C. NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM)
  • D. All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)

Q3. In the context of the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, the term 'supply-driven employment guarantee' (the model that the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha is protesting) most accurately refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A model in which the wage rate is indexed to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour and revised annually
  • B. A model in which the volume, location and timing of employment are determined by central budgetary allocations and pre-planned works, rather than by household demand
  • C. A model in which works are executed by private contractors selected through competitive bidding instead of by gram panchayats
  • D. A model in which the wage is paid in kind (foodgrains) rather than in cash to ensure food security

Q4. With reference to the differences between the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 and the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, consider the following statements: 1. The new Act raises the maximum guaranteed days of unskilled manual work per rural household per financial year from 100 to 125. 2. Unlike MGNREGA, which applied to all rural areas of India, coverage under the new Act is restricted to rural areas notified by the Union Government. 3. The central oversight body under MGNREGA, namely the Central Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council, has been retained without change under the new Act. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The new Act raises the maximum guaranteed days of unskilled manual work per rural household per financial year from 100 to 125.
  2. Unlike MGNREGA, which applied to all rural areas of India, coverage under the new Act is restricted to rural areas notified by the Union Government.
  3. The central oversight body under MGNREGA, namely the Central Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council, has been retained without change under the new Act.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3