Centrally Sponsored Schemes for Employment

Employment generation coupled with improving employability in the country including rural areas and small towns is the priority of the Government. Multi-pronged strategies are being taken by the Government to address issues relating to employment opportunity through Centrally Sponsored Schemes viz. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Deendayal Antyoday Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), Deendayal Upadhyay- Gramin Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Shyama Prasad Mukherjee RURban Mission, National Career Service (NCS) etc.

Further, the Government of India has taken various steps for generating employment in the country. 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 Rs. 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 Government launched the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) of 125 days on 20th June, 2020 to boost employment and livelihood opportunities for returnee migrant workers and similarly affected persons including youth in rural areas, in 116 selected districts across 6 States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Abhiyaan has achieved an employment generation of 50.78 crore persondays with a total expenditure of Rs 39,293 crore.

Aatmanirbhar Bharat RojgarYojana (ABRY) has been launched with effect from 1st October, 2020 as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat package 3.0 to incentivize employers for creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during Covid-19 pandemic. This scheme being implemented through the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), seeks to reduce the financial burden of the employers and encourages them to hire more workers. The terminal date for registration of beneficiaries has been extended from 30.06.2021 to 31.03.2022. Benefits of Rs.3435/- crore have been provided to 46.89 lakh beneficiaries through 1.26 lakh establishments till 29.01.2022.

Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme has been launched on June 01, 2020 to provide working capital loans to Street Vendors, vending in urban areas, to resume their businesses, which were impacted adversely due to COVID-19. Under this scheme, credit worth Rs. 3,054 crore to 30.2 lakh street vendors as on 30.11.2021

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is being implemented 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. Upto 21.01.2022, Rs.32.12 crore loans were sanctioned under the scheme. The Production Linked Incentive Schemes being implemented by the Government have potential for creating 60 lakh new jobs.

PM Gati Shakti 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)of the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Deen Dayal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs etc. for employment generation.

Besides these initiatives, various flagship programmes of the Government such as Make in India, Digital India, Smart City Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, Housing for All, Infrastructure Development and Industrial Corridors are also oriented towards generating employment opportunities.