Lok Sabha Question No. 3737 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-24
Subject: Welfare of SCs, STs & Marginalized Communities
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Adv. Chandra Shekhar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3737 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.03.2025

## WELFARE OF SCS, STS & MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES

3737. ADV. CHANDRA SHEKHAR:

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

- (a)the details of measures being taken by the Government to strengthen labour law enforcement and monitoring, particularly in sectors with high  concentrations  of  informal  workers  from  Scheduled  Castes, Scheduled Tribes and marginalized communities;
- (b)the details of the concrete actions being taken by the Government to ensure  that  minimum  wage  standards,  fair  working  conditions  and social security provisions are upheld for said vulnerable workers;
- (c)the details of the initiatives being taken by the Government to extend social security benefits to informal workers, particularly those from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other marginalized communities  along  with  the  measures  being  taken  to  ensure  their financial security and well-being;
- (d)the details of the measures taken by the Government to address the disproportionate  representation  of  Scheduled  Castes,  Scheduled Tribes  and  other  marginalized  communities  in  the  informal  sector along with the concrete steps being taken to ensure their transition to formal employment opportunities with adequate social protection and benefits; and
- (e)the reasons for the persistent wage gap between formal and informal sector workers and outline the concrete measures being taken by the Government  to  reduce  this  gap  and  promote  inclusive  economic growth, particularly for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other marginalized communities?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a) to (e): 'Labour'  being  a  subject  under  the  Concurrent  List,  the enforcement of labour laws is done by the State Governments and the Central  Government  in  their  respective  jurisdictions.  In  the  Central Sphere,  the  implementation  of  labour  laws are done through  various Contd..2/-

organizations of the Ministry viz., Office of Chief Labour Commissioner (Central),  Employees  Provident  Fund  Organization  (EPFO),  Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Directorate General of Mines Safety Labour

(DGMS), Directorate General Factory Advice Service and Institutes (DGFASLI) etc.

The Government has enacted the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 to ensure that workers get wages at a rate not less than the minimum rate of wages fixed by the appropriate government.  The Act provides for different minimum wages across various industries. The provisions of Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and Payment of Wages Act, 1936 are also applicable to workers from SC/ST communities.

The  Government  implements  various  welfare  schemes  for workers, including informal sector workers from SC/ ST comunities, such as Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) for healthcare,  Pradhan  Mantri  Jeevan  Jyoti  Bima  Yojana  (PMJJBY)  and Pradhan Mantri  Suraksha  Bima  Yojana  (PMSBY)  for  life  and  accident insurance respectively. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PMSYM) for pension benefits, the One-Nation- One-Ration-Card Scheme for food security,  Pradhan  Mantri  Awas  Yojana  (PMAY)  for  housing,  and  skill development initiatives such as Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, the Mahatma Gandhi employment

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for guarantee, to name a few.

Employment generation coupled with improving employability is a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes in the country including informal sector workers  from Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribes. These interalia include Prime Minister's Employment Generation  Programme  (PMEGP),  MGNREGS,  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), etc. The details of various employment generation schemes/programmes being implemented by the Government may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes\_programmes

Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, is running the National Career Service (NCS) Portal which is a one-stop solution for providing career related services including jobs from private and government sectors, information on online & offline job fairs, job guidance, information on skill development courses, skill/training programmes etc. through  a  digital  platform  [www.ncs.gov.in].  As  on  28.02.2025,  more search & matching, career counselling, vocational than 4.7 crore vacancies have been mobilised on NCS Portal.

Persons  from  SC/ST  communities  are  also  eligible  for  the above schemes/ programmes.

Further,  Department  of  Social  Justice  and  Empowerment (DoSJ&E) launched the Pradhan Mantri -Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Scheme, a Central Sector Scheme, in the financial year 2020-21, for providing skill training to SCs, OBCs, EWSs, DNTs, Safai Karamcharis including Waste Pickers through the empaneled training institutes. The main objective of PM-DAKSH Scheme is to enhance the skills  of  target  group  and  make  them  employable  in  both  wageemployment and self-employment. The scheme is being implemented on pan India basis. Once the training programmes under this scheme are completed, assessment and certification of trainees are conducted and the certified trainees are provided with placement opportunities either in wage-employment or self-employment.

The  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  is  implementing  the  scheme 'Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM)' through TRIFED which envisions  to strengthen  tribal entrepreneurship  initiatives and  to facilitate livelihood opportunities by promoting more efficient, equitable, self-managed,  optimum  use  of  natural  resources,  Agri  /  Minor  Forest Produce (MFPs) / Non-farm produce. Under the scheme, financial support of INR 15.00 lakhs is provided to the State Governments for setting up of each Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) which are the centers of value addition activities of MFPs/Non-MFPs.

The  National  Scheduled  Tribes  Finance  and  Development Corporation (NSTFDC), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs,  facilitates  credit  linkage  by  providing concessional  loans  to  eligible  Scheduled  Tribe  individuals/SHGs  for undertaking income-generating activities and self-employment, thereby fostering entrepreneurship.

Ministry of Labour and Employment is also implementing the 'Welfare  of  SC/ST  jobseekers  Scheme'  through  the network  of  25 National  Career  Service  Centres  for  SC/ST  (NCSC-SC/STs)  across  the country to enhance the employability of SC/ST jobseekers through pre recruitment  training, vocational guidance,  career counselling  and computer  training  etc.  with  a  view  to  preparing  them  to  meet  the demands of the labour market.

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