Stiglitz, Piketty Urge Centre to Restore MGNREGA: 'Historic Error' to Dismantle

• Top economists, including Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz and Thomas Piketty, have urged the Indian Centre to restore the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
• MGNREGA was recently repealed and replaced by the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM G Bill), passed hurriedly in Parliament.
• Experts criticize the new law for its fundamental changes, which they believe could undermine the foundational principles of the original demand-driven employment guarantee.
• The economists highlighted MGNREGA's success in providing over 2 billion person-days of work, especially benefiting women and marginalized communities (SC/ST).
• They warned that dismantling MGNREGA now, particularly by devolving it to states without adequate fiscal support, would be a "historic error."

Why It Matters: Global economists warn dismantling MGNREGA is a "historic error," urging its restoration for rural employment.