Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Rameswar Teli in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today said that employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the Government. Accordingly, the Government of India has taken various steps for generating employment in the country.
Shri Teli said that creation and filling up of posts in the Central Ministries/Departments is the responsibility of the concerned Ministry/ Department and all Ministries/ Departments have been directed to take action in mission mode for filling up the vacant posts in time bound manner.
As per the latest available Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above was 6.0%, 5.8%, 4.8% and 4.2% during 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively, which shows that unemployment in the country has declining trend.
In the written reply, it was stated that the Government of India has announced Aatmanirbhar Bharat package to provide stimulus to business and to mitigate the adverse impact of Covid-19. Under this package, the Government is providing fiscal stimulus of more than Rupees Twenty-Seven lakh crore. This package comprises of various long term schemes/programmes/policies for making the country self-reliant and to create employment opportunities.
The Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) was launched with effect from 1st October, 2020 to incentivize employers for creation of new employment and restoration of loss of employment during Covid-19 pandemic. The terminal date for registration of beneficiaries was 31.03.2022. Since inception of the scheme, till 24.01.2023, benefits of Rs. 8474.55 Crore have been provided to 60.26 lakhs beneficiaries under the scheme.
Government is implementing Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbharNidhi (PM SVANidhi Scheme) since June 01, 2020 to facilitate collateral free working capital loan to street vendors to restart their businesses, which were adversely impacted during the Covid-19 pandemic. As on 17.01.2023, 37.84 lakh loans amounting to Rs. 4,379 Crore have been disbursed under the scheme.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) was launched by the Government for facilitating self-employment. Under PMMY, collateral free loans upto Rs. 10 lakh, are extended to micro/small business enterprises and to individuals to enable them to setup or expand their business activities. During 2022-23 (till 20.01.2023), an amount of Rs 2.66 lakh crore was disbursed in 3.60 crore loan accounts sanctioned under the scheme.
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes is being implemented by the Government with an outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore, for a period of 5 years starting from 2021-22 which have potential for creating 60 lakh new jobs.
PM GatiShakti is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development. The approach is driven by seven engines, namely, Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure. This approach is powered by Clean Energy and Sabka Prayas leading to huge job and entrepreneurial opportunities for all.
The Government of India is encouraging various projects involving substantial investment and public expenditure on schemes like Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Deen Dayal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) etc. for employment generation.
Besides these initiatives, various flagship programmes of the Government such as Make in India, Start-up India, Stand-up India, Digital India, Housing for All etc. are also oriented towards generating employment opportunities. All these initiatives are expected to collectively generate employment in the medium to long term through multiplier-effects.
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