Lok Sabha Question No. 2154 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-05
Subject: Struggle to Create Sufficient Employment
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Shyamkumar Daulat Barve, Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, Shri Arvind Ganpat Sawant, Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2154

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05 TH  AUGUST, 2024

## STRUGGLE TO CREATE SUFFICIENT EMPLOYMENT

2154. SHRI SHYAMKUMAR DAULAT BARVE:

SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV:

SHRI ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA CHANDU BARNE:

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

- (a) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  Citi  Group's  Report  has  stated  that  the Government is likely to struggle in  creating  sufficient  employment opportunities even with a 7 per cent growth rate;
- (b)
- whether the Government has studied the aforesaid Report;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the response of the Government thereon;
- (d) the  details  of  the  employment  opportunities  generated  by  the Government during the period 2014-15 to 2023-24;
- (e) the extent to which the generated employment opportunities short the target fixed by the Government in this regard; and
- (f) the steps taken by the Government to generate sufficient employment opportunities to meet the requirement?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (f): Government refuted Citigroup's report that India will struggle to create sufficient employment opportunities even with a 7% growth rate.

The  official  data  source  on  Employment  and  Unemployment  is Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) which is conducted by the Ministry of Statistics  and  Programme  Implementation  (MoSPI)  since  2017-18.  The survey period is July to June every year. As per the latest available Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above in the country is as follows:

| Year    |   WPR (in %) |   UR (in %) |
|---------|--------------|-------------|
| 2017-18 |         46.8 |         6   |
| 2018-19 |         47.3 |         5.8 |
| 2019-20 |         50.9 |         4.8 |
| 2020-21 |         52.6 |         4.2 |
| 2021-22 |         52.9 |         4.1 |
| 2022-23 |         56   |         3.2 |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI

The  above  data  indicates that the  WPR  i.e.  employment  has increasing trend and  Unemployment Rate has a decreasing trend over the years.

As  per  the  Reserve  Bank  of  India's  (RBI)  latest  KLEMS  data, employment  in  the  country  increased  to  64.33  crore  in  year  2023-24 compared to 47.15 crore in 2014-15. Total increase in employment during 2014-15 to 2023-24 is about 17.19 crore.

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

The  various  Ministries/  Departments  of  Government  of  India  like Ministry  of  Micro,  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises,  Ministry  of  Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry  of  Textiles,  Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology, etc. are implementing different employment generation schemes/ programmes  like  Prime  Minister's  Employment  Generation  Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (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. including increase in capital expenditure 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.

Further,  Government  announced  in  the  Budget  2024-25,  the  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 crore.

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