Lok Sabha Question No. 146 (STARRED), answered on 2020-03-02
Subject: Unemployment
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Kaushalendra Kumar

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*146

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 02 ND  MARCH, 2020

## UNEMPLOYMENT

*146.  SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that unemployment is very common among the youth in the country;
- (b) if so, whether the Government is taking necessary steps to eradicate it by creating more Government and public sector job opportunities;
- (c) whether  the Government  has  any  plan to support private sector industries to enable them to provide more jobs to the deserving youth; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

(a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

**

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  to  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *146  DUE  FOR  REPLY  ON  02-03-2020  BY  SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR REGARDING 'UNEMPLOYMENT'.

(a)  to  (d):  As  per  the  results  of  annual  Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS) conducted  by  National  Statistical  Office  (NSO),  Ministry  of  Statistics  and Programme Implementation during 2017-18, the estimated unemployment rate on usual status (principal status + subsidiary status) basis for persons of age 15 years and above in the country was 6.0%.

Employment  generation  coupled  with  improving  employability  is  the priority of the Government. Government has taken various steps for generating  employment  in  the  country  like  encouraging  private  sector  of economy, fast-tracking various projects involving substantial investment and increasing public expenditure on schemes such as 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  Deendyal  Antodaya  YojanaNational Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).

Promoting  entrepreneurship  is  essential  for  enabling  the  youth  to productively contribute to the economic development of the country. Accordingly, the Government of India has accorded priority to the entrepreneurship  through  various  measures  such  as  Startup  India,  Mudra Scheme, etc. so as to train and finance entrepreneurs.

Under Skill India Mission, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship  is  implementing  a  flagship  scheme  known  as  the  Pradhan Mantri  Kaushal  VikasYojana  (PMKVY)  2016-20  with  an  objective  to  provide skilling to one crore people under Short Term Training (STT) and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) across the country for four years i.e. 2016-2020.

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.

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 and has a repository of career content to job seekers.

The  National  Manufacturing  Policy  identifies  employment  intensive industries  like  textiles  and  garments,  leather  and  footwear,  gems  and jewellery  and  food  processing,  etc.  as  special  focus  attention  sectors.  The policy  provides  special  attention  for  Small  Scale  Industries  as  they  offer employment opportunities both for  self-employment and jobs across diverse geographies.

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. Ministries/Departments/States run skill  development  schemes  across  various  sectors  to  improve  the employability of youth and also facilitate placements. Schemes such as the National  Apprenticeship  Promotion  Scheme  (NAPS)  wherein  Government reimburses 25 percent of the stipend payable to apprentices also enhances employability of the youth to access employment.

Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) was launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment for incentivising employers for promoting employment  generation.  Under  this  scheme,  Government  is  paying  entire employer's contribution (12% or as admissible) towards EPF and EPS for all eligible  new  employees  for  all  sectors  for 3 years. The  last date  for registration  of  beneficiaries  under  PMRPY  through  employer  was  31 st   March 2019.

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