Lok Sabha Question No. 518 (STARRED), answered on 2026-03-30
Subject: Initiatives to Curb Unemployment Rate
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Md Abu Taher Khan

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

## STARRED QUESTION NO.*518

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30 TH  MARCH, 2026

## INITIATIVES TO CURB UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

*518.  MD ABU TAHER KHAN:

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

- (a) the details of the initiatives taken by the Government to curb the unemployment rate in the country and the results thereof during the last five years; and
- (b) the  details  of  the  skill  development  initiatives  taken  by  the Government for easy transition of graduate students to the formal work scenario during the last five years?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA)

- (a) & (b):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO. *518 DUE FOR REPLY ON 30.03.2026 BY MD ABU TAHER KHAN, M.P. REGARDING 'INITIATIVES TO CURB UNEMPLOYMENT RATE'

- (a)  &  (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.

As per the latest Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above has decreased from 6.0% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24 in the country and for graduates of age 15 years and above has decreased from 17.2% to 13.0% during the same period.

The KLEMS (K: Capital, L: Labour, E: Energy, M: Materials and S: Services) database published by Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) covers 27 industries  comprising  of  the  entire  Indian  economy  and  provides employment estimates across 27 industries. As per the latest data, total estimated  employment  in  the  country  has  increased  to  64.33  crores (Provisional) during 2023-24 as compared to 47.15 crores during 2014-15, which indicates a growth of 36.44% during the period.

Further, more than 8.23 crore net subscribers have joined Employees'  Provident  Fund  Organization  (EPFO)  between  September 2017 and July 2025 indicating increase in employment and formalization of the job market. Also, more than 1.29 crore net subscribers have joined EPFO during the year 2024-25.

Employment generation coupled with improving employability is a priority  of  the  Government.  Accordingly,  Government  is  implementing various  employment generation schemes/ programmes in the country. The  details  of  various  employment  generation  schemes/  programmes being implemented by the Government may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes\_programmes.

Government is also implementing Skill India Mission (SIM) to deliver skill, re-skill 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) in the country. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills. Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  (MeitY)  has initiated 'FutureSkills PRIME' a programme for Re -skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower  for Employability in 10 new/emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence. Government  is  implementing  Employment  Linked  Incentive  (ELI) Scheme named as the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana to support  employment  generation,  enhance  employability  and  social security  across  all  sectors,  with  special  focus  on  the  manufacturing sector. The scheme with an outlay of Rs 99,446 Crore aims to incentivize the creation of more than 3.5 Crore jobs in the country, over a period of 2 years. Further, 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 search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, skill/training programmes etc. through a digital platform [www.ncs.gov.in].

*****