Employment Generation Schemes in India

India has implemented various employment generation schemes aimed at reducing unemployment, alleviating poverty, and fostering economic growth, especially in rural and economically disadvantaged regions. Read here to learn about key employment generation schemes.

Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the Government. Accordingly, the Government of India has taken various steps to generate employment in the country.

The efforts comprise various long-term schemes/ programmes/ policies for making the country self-reliant and creating employment opportunities.

Employment Generation Schemes in India

Employment generation in India is a critical focus of government policy, given the country’s large and growing population and the need for sustainable economic growth.

Multiple sectors, schemes, and initiatives are directed toward creating employment opportunities, with an emphasis on rural and informal economies, as well as newer industries like technology and green energy.

Government Employment Schemes:

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA): This scheme guarantees 100 days of wage employment for rural households, focusing on infrastructure development, such as water conservation, afforestation, and rural road construction. It is a significant source of employment for rural labour, especially for marginalized communities.
• Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY): Launched to incentivize businesses to create new jobs, PMRPY provides government support for employer contributions to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), making it more feasible for companies to hire new employees.
• National Career Service (NCS): This digital platform aims to connect job seekers with employment opportunities by offering job matching, career counselling, and skills training.

Focus on Skill Development:

• Skill India Mission and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): These initiatives focus on equipping young Indians with vocational skills aligned with industry demands. PMKVY provides short-term training in various sectors to boost employability, especially in the manufacturing and service sectors.
• Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme: Encourages apprenticeships in various industries, allowing young individuals to gain on-the-job training, which enhances their job readiness.

Sector-Specific Employment Strategies:

• Agriculture: Agriculture remains a primary employment source, especially in rural areas. Modernization efforts and agro-based industries, such as food processing and dairy, are increasingly viewed as ways to increase employment while boosting productivity.
• Manufacturing and MSMEs: The Make in India initiative seeks to boost manufacturing and reduce dependency on imports. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are particularly crucial, as they contribute significantly to employment generation and are now supported by easier credit access and digital infrastructure under the Digital India initiative.
• Green Energy and Technology: The renewable energy sector, including solar and wind power projects, is anticipated to generate new job opportunities. Additionally, sectors like IT, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce are rapidly expanding, supported by initiatives for digital literacy and startup funding.

Urban Employment Initiatives:

• National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM): NULM focuses on creating employment in urban areas by promoting self-employment and entrepreneurship among the urban poor through skill training and financial support.

Youth and Women’s Employment:

• Stand Up India and Startup India: Both schemes encourage entrepreneurship, especially among women and scheduled caste/scheduled tribe individuals, with a focus on small enterprises, often seen as potential sources of employment in emerging industries.

Infrastructure Development and Public Works:

• Large-scale infrastructure projects, like the construction of highways, railways, and smart cities, contribute significantly to employment generation by creating jobs in construction, logistics, and related sectors.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

• Objective: Launched in 2005, MGNREGA aims to provide 100 days of guaranteed wage employment each financial year to rural households whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work.
• Impact: It supports income for the rural poor and improves rural infrastructure by constructing assets like roads, ponds, and irrigation channels. In recent years, it has been a lifeline for millions, especially during economic disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

• Objective: Introduced in 2008, PMEGP is designed to create self-employment opportunities by providing financial assistance for new micro-enterprises in both rural and urban areas.
• Implementation: The scheme is implemented through the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and promotes entrepreneurship, especially among marginalized groups such as women, scheduled castes, and scheduled tribes.

Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY)

• Objective: Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) was launched with effect from 1.4.2016 to incentivise employers the create new employment.
• Implementation: The scheme was implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The beneficiaries registered up to 31st March 2019 will continue to receive the benefit for 3 years from the date of registration under the scheme i.e. up to 31st March 2022.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)

• Objective: Launched in 2014, DDU-GKY aims to reduce poverty by training rural youth (aged 15-35) and enhancing their employability in various industries.
• Focus: The scheme focuses on sectors with high employment potential, including retail, hospitality, and construction. It is part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and is implemented through public-private partnerships.

National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM)

• Objective: Launched in 2013, NULM is aimed at providing urban residents, especially the urban poor, with sustainable self-employment opportunities and skill development.
• Key Components: It includes training for job skills, promoting micro-entrepreneurship, and providing financial support for urban poor households through self-help groups (SHGs).

Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY)

• Objective: Launched in 2020 as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative, ABRY aims to incentivize businesses to create new jobs by covering the employee and employer contributions to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) for newly hired workers.
• Focus: It supports formal employment and helps businesses, particularly MSMEs, that face financial constraints. ABRY targets both new hires and those who lost jobs during the pandemic.

Start-Up India and Stand-Up India

• Objective: Launched in 2016, Start-Up India aims to foster entrepreneurship and job creation through regulatory support, financial incentives, and incubation centres.
• Stand-Up India: Introduced alongside, Stand-Up India supports entrepreneurship among women and marginalized groups (SC/ST) by providing financial assistance to establish new enterprises.
• Impact: These programs have contributed significantly to employment generation by nurturing a culture of innovation and self-reliance​.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)

• Objective: Launched in 2015, PMKVY focuses on skill development and vocational training to make youth employable in various sectors.
• Focus: PMKVY provides short-term training and certification to youth, enabling them to find employment in high-demand industries. It also emphasizes placement linkages and post-training support.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (PMGKRA)

• Objective: The Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) was a 125-day Abhiyan launched by the Prime Minister on 20th June 2020 with a mission to address the issues of returnee migrant workers and similarly affected rural population by Covid-19 pandemic through a multi-pronged strategy.
• Focus: The focus is on providing immediate employment & livelihood opportunities to the distressed, saturating the villages with public infrastructure and creating livelihood assets to boost income generation activities and enhance long-term livelihood opportunities by giving focus on 25 works in 116 selected districts across 6 States with a resource envelope of Rs. 50,000 crore.

Aajeevika – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)

• Aajeevika – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India in June 2011.
• Aided in part through investment support by the World Bank, the Mission aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms for the rural poor, enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services.

PM- SVANidhi Scheme

• Prime Minister Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme since June 01, 2020, to provide collateral-free working capital loans to Street Vendors, vending in urban areas, to resume their businesses which were adversely affected due to COVID-19 induced lock-down.
• It was implemented under the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.

National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)

• The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) was launched in August 2016 by the Government of India (Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship) to promote apprenticeship in the country by providing financial incentives, technology and advocacy support.
• The scheme has the following two components, viz., (i) Sharing of 25% of prescribed stipend subject to a maximum of Rs. 1500/- per month per apprentice with the employers and (ii) Sharing of basic training cost up to a maximum of Rs. 7,500 per apprentice.

Conclusion

The employment generation schemes represent a multi-faceted approach to addressing unemployment in India, targeting different demographics and economic challenges.

By focusing on skill development, wage employment, self-employment, and entrepreneurship, the government aims to promote sustainable job creation across urban and rural areas.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Is there any scheme for the educated unemployed in India?

Ans: The Prime Minister Rozgar Yojna (PMRY) scheme is to assist educated unemployed persons. It relates to the setting up of self-employment ventures through industry services and business routes.

Q. Who is eligible for the e-shram yojana?

Ans: Unorganised Workers (working as street vendors, agriculture-related work, construction site workers, workers in industries of leather, handloom, mid-day meal, rickshaw or auto wheelers, rag picking, carpenters, fishermen etc.

• The age group of 18-40 years
• Monthly income is below Rs.15000 and not a member of EPFO/ESIC/NPS (Govt. funded).

Related articles:

• Types of unemployment
• Inclusive growth
• Government Policies And Interventions For Development And Issues Arising Out Of Their Implementation And Design
• Indian Economy and Issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment

-Article by Swathi Satish