Lok Sabha Question No. 1655 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-31
Subject: Loss of Jobs Skilled Services and BPO Personnel in IT Sector
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Chinta Anuradha

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1655

TO BE ANSWERED ON 31 ST  JULY, 2023

## LOSS OF JOBS SKILLED SERVICES AND BPO PERSONNEL IN IT SECTOR

## 1655.   SHRIMATI CHINTA ANURADHA:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware that Robot Automation Process (RPA) has led to loss of jobs of many low skilled services and BPO personnel in IT sector, if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to protect the jobs of existing personnel and to provide alternate sources of livelihood to the people who lost their jobs?

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## ANSWER (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a)  to  (b):  The  data  on  Employment  and  Unemployment  is  collected through 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 of next year. As per the latest available Annual PLFS Reports, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR),  indicating  employment,  on  usual  status  for  persons  of  age  15 years  and  above  has  significantly  increased  to  52.9%  during  2021-22 from 46.8% during 2017-18.

The  Quarterly  Employment  Survey  (QES)  is  conducted  by  Labour Bureau  which  aims  to  assess  the  employment  situation  in  respect  of selected  nine  sectors  of  non-farm  economy  of  India  over  successive quarters. Selected nine sectors are Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Transport, Education, Health, Accommodation & Restaurants, Information  Technology  (IT)/  Business  Process  Outsourcing  (BPO)  and Financial  Services.  As  per  the  fourth  round  of  QES  (January-March, 2022), the estimated total employment in the nine selected sectors was 3.18  crore,  which  is  10  lakhs  higher  than  the  estimated  employment (3.08 crore) from the first round of QES (April-June, 2021).

As per the fourth round of QES, the estimated employment in the Information Technology (IT)/ Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector has  increased  to  38.31  lakhs  as  compared  to  20.71  lakh  during  first round  of  QES,  which  indicates  the  increase  in  employment  in  IT/BPO sector.

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.

The Government considers Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be kinetic enabler for the growth of our digital economy, investments and jobs. The Government has taken various initiatives in the country, viz., Visvesvaraya  PhD  Scheme,  Future  Skills  PRIME,  Responsible  AI  for Youth programme, National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), etc. to connect the AI opportunities to the youth.

Investments in Infrastructure and productive capacity have a large multiplier  impact  on  growth  and  employment.  The  budget  of  2023-24 proposed to increase capital investment outlay steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 per cent of  GDP.  This  substantial  increase  in  recent  years  is  central  to  the government's efforts to enhance growth potential and job creation.

The  Government  of  India  has  announced  Aatmanirbhar  Bharat package  to  provide  stimulus  to  business  and  to  mitigate  the  adverse impact of Covid 19. Under this package, the Government has provided fiscal  stimulus  of  more  than  Rupees  Twenty  Seven  lakh  crore.  This package comprises of various long term schemes/ programmes/ policies for making the country self-reliant and to create employment opportunities.

The Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) was launched with effect  from  1st  October,  2020  to  incentivize  employers  for  creation  of new employment and restoration of loss of employment during Covid-19 pandemic.  The  terminal  date  for  registration  of  beneficiaries  was 31.03.2022. Since inception of the scheme, till 02.07.2023, benefits have been provided to 60.42 lakhs beneficiaries under the scheme.

The  Government  is  implementing  Prime  Minister  Street  Vendor's AtmaNirbharNidhi  (PM  SVANidhi  Scheme)  since  June  01,  2020  to facilitate collateral free working capital loan to street vendors to restart their  businesses,  which  were  adversely  impacted  during  the  Covid-19 pandemic.  As  on  14.07.2023,  50.18  lakh  loans  have  been  disbursed under the scheme.

Pradhan  Mantri  Mudra  Yojana  (PMMY)  was  launched  by  the Government  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.  As  on  07.07.2023,  more  than  42.29  crore  loan accounts sanctioned under the scheme.

The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is being implemented by the Government with an outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore, for  a  period  of  5  years  starting  from  2021-22  which  have  potential  for creating 60 lakh new jobs.

PM GatiShakti is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development. The approach is driven by seven engines, namely,  Roads,  Railways,  Airports,  Ports,  Mass  Transport,  Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure. This approach is powered by Clean Energy and Sabka Prayas leading to huge job and entrepreneurial opportunities for all.

The Government of India is encouraging various projects involving substantial  investment  and  public  expenditure  on  schemes  like  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 Deen Dayal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), Rural Self Employment  and Training Institutes (RSETIs), etc. for employment generation. Further, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship  (MSDE)  is  implementing  the  National  Apprenticeship Promotion  Scheme  (NAPS)  and  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana (PMKVY) to enhance the employability of youth.

Besides  these  initiatives,  various  flagship  programmes  of  the Government such as Make in India, Start-up India, Stand-up India, Digital India, Housing for All etc. are also oriented towards generating employment opportunities.

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