DMK claims 'G Ram G' scheme itself may be scrapped any time by citing 'some data'
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK on Saturday hit out at the BJP-led Centre over the new VB-G RAM G Bill and said removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name alone was not the issue.
The new Bill has no guarantee for work for a total of 125 days and it has all features to facilitate halting the scheme itself at any time.
DMK mouthpiece 'Murasoli' said removal of Gandhi's name for the job guarantee scheme alone was not the issue; but the very objective of that scheme has been defeated and this was the core issue.
In the overall matter of deletion of Gandhi's name, other issues have been buried. Dropping Gandhiji's name was not going to affect his image in any manner and the removal of his name has only made people remember and talk about him more and more, Murasoli said in its editorial of December 20, 2025.
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The ruling party listed 10 reasons for opposing the "G Ram G" rural employment guarantee Bill and rejected that name as pretty difficult to even pronounce.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB-G RAM G Bill, assuring 125 days of guaranteed jobs for rural India, has been adopted by both Houses of the Parliament.
The DMK said the cost-sharing ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and states is "loot" of state's funds. "Though they claim providing work for 125 days, it will not happen for sure."
The Dravidian Tamil daily cited the provision tasking the state governments to notify in advance, a period aggregating to sixty days in a financial year, covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting. During this period, works under the VB-G RAM G Act shall not be undertaken and this feature will affect those not involved in farm work. Also, the beneficiaries are set to be enlisted using the Centre's Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and this will directly affect states like Tamil Nadu that are fighting to eliminate poverty.
The new scheme itself could be "stopped" by claiming that poverty has been eliminated by citing "some data". As per the previous law, getting job was the people's right and now, as per the new Bill, jobs will be provided if available.
The new initiative goes against federalism, state autonomy as a provision enables the Centre to decide jobs for each state. Such a clause would lead the way for "betraying" non-BJP ruled states. Unlike the previous legislation, there is no scope for providing compensation if work could not be provided. There is no guarantee that that jobs would be provided for 125 days. "This new Bill has all features to facilitate halting the scheme at any time."
Targeting AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, the DMK daily hit out at him for merely issuing a statement to reinstate the Father of the Nation's name for the employment guarantee scheme. "Does Palaniswami accept all other changes to the scheme?
Further, the DMK daily alleged that Palaniswami was repeating his gimmick of deceiving the people, which the nation witnessed in the issues of CAA, and the 3 farms laws (repealed later). The former CM had said that the minorities will not be affected by the CAA and that the farmers will actually be benefited by the farm laws.
Parliament on Thursday passed the VB-G RAM G Bill, that seeks to replace the 20-year-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and guarantee 125 days of rural wage employment every year.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
