Lok Sabha Question No. 2677 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-14
Subject: Rural Unemployment
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: S.R. Parthiban

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2677

ANSWERED ON 14/12/2021

## RURAL UNEMPLOYMENT

## 2677.   SHRI PARTHIBAN S.R.:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether rural  unemployment rate is  increasing  since  the  pandemic,  if  so,  details  of monthly data since 2020;
- (b) the steps taken by the Government to increase employment and skill development in rural areas; and
- (c) the steps that have been taken by Government to support the unemployed sectors of the rural background to meet their livelihood?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

- (a)   As  per  the  Annual  Reports  on  Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS)  the  estimate  of Unemployment Rate (UR) by usual status for rural areas during July  2017  - June 2020 is given below:
- (b)  &  (c)  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) is a demand driven wage employment programme which provide for the enhancement  of  livelihood  security  of  the  households  in  rural  areas  of  the  country  by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It provides fall  back  options  for  livelihood  for  the  rural  households  when  no  better  employment opportunities are available.

| Estimates of Unemployment Rate (UR) by usual status for rural areas in percentage   | Estimates of Unemployment Rate (UR) by usual status for rural areas in percentage   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Period                                                                              | Unemployment Rate (UR)                                                              |
| July 2017 - June 2018                                                               | 5.3                                                                                 |
| July 2018 - June 2019                                                               | 5.0                                                                                 |
| July 2019 - June 2020                                                               | 4.0                                                                                 |
| Source: Annual Reports, PLFS : 2019-20                                              | Source: Annual Reports, PLFS : 2019-20                                              |

Project 'UNNATI', launched in December 2019 by Government of India, is a skilling project that intends to upgrade the skill base of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS workers, and thereby improve  their  livelihoods.  A  total  of 11,604 candidates  have  been  trained  so  far. Start-up Village  Entrepreneurship  Programme  (SVEP),  is  a  sub-scheme  under  the  Deendayal Antyodaya  Yojana-National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NRLM)  programme  to support the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and their family members to set-up small enterprises in the non-farm sector. SVEP develops an eco-system for enterprise development in the rural areas which consists of Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) for enterprise financing, Cadre of Community  Resource  Persons-Enterprise  Promotion  (CRP-EP)  for  providing  Business Support Services comprising of preparation of business plans, trainings, market linkages etc. and  dedicated  Block  Resource  Center  (BRC)  for  providing  all  necessary  information  to entrepreneurs.  As on 31st October, 2021,  a total number of 232 project proposals and 158 Detailed  Project  Reports  (DPR)  have  been  approved  covering  29  States  and  Union Territories.  A  total  of  1.78  lakh  enterprises  have  been  formed  and  supported  till  October, 2021.

There are two skill development programmes for rural youth under DAY-NRLM,   namely, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self  Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs). Both these programmes are aimed at increasing employability of rural youth either for wage or self-employment. In respect of DDU-GKY and RSETIs, the physical achievement (number of candidates trained and placed   in jobs/ settled) during the last  three  financial  years  and  the  current  financial  year  (up  to  November  2021)  is  given below:

| Year    | DDU-GKY   | DDU-GKY   | RSETIs   | RSETIs   |
|---------|-----------|-----------|----------|----------|
|         | Trained   | Placed    | Trained  | Settled  |
| 2018-19 | 2,41,509  | 1,37,251  | 403672   | 296307   |
| 2019-20 | 2,47,177  | 1,50,214  | 384025   | 281645   |
| 2020-21 | 38,289    | 49,563    | 255141   | 185234   |
| 2021-22 | 23,186    | 22,067    | 161690   | 97845    |

Construction  of  rural  roads  under  the   Pradhan  Mantri  Gram  Sadak  Yojana  (PMGSY) provides  local  employment  opportunities apart  from  providing   transportation  services,  and serves as a vehicle of social and economic development.

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