Lok Sabha Question No. 3300 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-16
Subject: Rising Agricultural Employment and its Impact
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Smt. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3300

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 TH  DECEMBER, 2024

## RISING AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT AND ITS IMPACT

3300.     SMT. KANIMOZHI KARUNANIDHI:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  increase  in  agricultural employment  by  3.6  percentage  points  to  46.1%,  as  reported  in  the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  of  the  assessment,  including  the  rise  in  agricultural employment, Statewise;
- (c) if not, the reasons for not conducting the assessment;
- (d) whether the Government has identified the factors driving the shift back to agriculture and the impact on productivity and income levels; and
- (e) the  details  of  measures  taken/to  be  taken  to  address  the  shift  and facilitate  a  transition  towards  higher  productivity  sectors  such  as manufacturing and services?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a)  to  (e):  The  official  data  on  Employment  and  Unemployment  is  collected through Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which is conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18. The survey period is July to June every year.

As per the data available in latest Annual PLFS Reports, the percentage distribution of workers in usual status in agriculture sector was 45.5%, 45.8% and 46.1% during the years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively.

The  KLEMS  (K:  Capital,  L:  Labour,  E:  Energy,  M:  Materials  and  S: Services)  database  published  by  Reserve  Bank  of  India's  (RBI)  provides employment estimates including Labour productivity (LP) at all India level.

As  per  the  latest  available  data  of  KLEMS,  industries  like  Hotels  and Restaurants,  Coke,  Refined  Petroleum  Products  and  Nuclear  fuel,  Post  and Telecommunication, Machinery, Wood and Products of wood, Electricity, Gas and Water Supply etc., have registered an increase in Labour productivity (LP) in the year 2022-23 as compared to 2021-22.

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

The various Ministries/ Departments of Government of India are implementing  different  employment  generation  schemes/  programmes  like Prime  Minister's  Employment  Generation  Programme  (PMEGP),  Deen  Dayal Upadhyaya  Grameen  Kaushalya  Yojana  (DDU-GKY),  Rural  Self  Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NULM),  Pradhan  Mantri  Mudra  Yojana  (PMMY), Production Linked Incentive (PLI), Make in India, Startup India, Standup India etc.,  which,  along  with  increase  in  capital  expenditure,  seeks  to  boost employment creation. The details of various employment generation schemes/programmes being implemented by the Government of India may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes\_programmes.

Government is implementing Skill India Mission (SIM) to deliver skill, reskill  and  up-skill  training  through  an  extensive  network  of  skill  development centres/ schools/ colleges /institutes etc. under various schemes, viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship  Promotion  Scheme  (NAPS)  and  Craftsmen  Training  Scheme (CTS)  through  Industrial  Training  Institutes  (ITIs).  The  SIM  aims  at  enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills.

Further, Government has announced in Budget 202425, Prime Minister's package  of  5  schemes  and  initiatives  to  facilitate  employment,  skilling  and other  opportunities  for  4.1  crore  youth  over  a  5-year  period  with  a  central outlay of Rs.2 lakh crores. It includes, the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme announced in Budget 2024-25, with an outlay of Rs 1,07,000 Crores, which aims at job creation and formalization of work force by providing Social Security  through  EPFO,  enhancing  employability  and  incentivizing  additional employment generation through incentives to employees and employers.

One  part  of  ELI  scheme  specially  focuses  on  incentivizing  employers engaged  in  manufacturing  sector  for  formalization/creation  of  jobs.  Another part  of  ELI  scheme  is  for  incentivizing  industry  in  all  sectors,  including services.

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