Employment Guarantee for Urban Poor
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs is implementing a Centrally-sponsored Scheme viz. the “Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)” to reduce poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households by enabling them to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities. The Employment through skills Training and Placement (EST&P) component of the Misssion aims to provide skills to the urban poor to increase their income through structured and market-oriented certified courses that can provide wage employment and/or self-employment opportunities which will eventually lead to better living standards and alleviation of urban poverty on a sustainable basis. Further, Self-Employment Programme (SEP) component focuses on financial assistance to individuals/groups/SHGs of urban poor for setting up gainful self-employment ventures or micro-enterprises.
Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojna (ABRY) Scheme has been launched 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), reduces the financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries including MSME and encourages them to hire more workers. Under ABRY, the Government of India is bearing both the employees’ share (12% of wages) and employers’ share (12% of wages) of contribution payable or only the employees’ share, depending on employment strength of the EPFO registered establishments.
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is implementing Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), which is a major credit-linked subsidy programme aimed at generating self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector by helping traditional artisans and unemployed youth.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has been initiated by Government inter alia, 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.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal VikasYojana (PMKVY) is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme is to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood and to meet their employment as well as self employment requirement.
Besides these initiatives, flagship programmes of the Government such as Make in India, Digital India, Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart City Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, Housing for All, Infrastructure development and Industrial corridors have the potential to generate productive employment opportunities.
Government has implemented the National Career Service (NCS) Project which comprises a digital portal that provides a nation-wide online platform for the job seekers and employers for job-matching in a dynamic, efficient and responsive manner.
This information was given by Minister of State (I/C) for Labour & Employment Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.