Govt. Initiatives Towards Informal Workers

Question by: Bhagwanth Khuba

1. whether the Government is aware of the fact that more than 20 per cent of informal workers are still jobless;
2. if so, the details thereof; and
3. the steps taken by the government in this regard?

Answer by: Minister of State (IC) for Labour and Employment (Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar)

Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) on employment and unemployment is conducted by National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. As per the results of PLFS, the unemployment rate for persons of age 15 years and above on usual status (principal status + subsidiary status) basis in the country during 2017-18 & 2018-19 was 6.0% and 5.8% respectively.

Employment Generation Schemes

• Employment generation is a priority of the Government. Government has taken various steps for generating employment in the country through schemes such as:
• Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)
• Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)
• Deendayal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).

Fiscal Stimulus

• The Government is providing fiscal stimulus of more than rupees twenty seven lakh crore as part of the Aatmanirbhar financial Package.
• Aatmanirbhar Bharat package comprises of various long term schemes/ programmes/ policies for making the country self-reliant and to create employment opportunities for organised and unorganised sectors.
• Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojna (ABRY) Scheme has been launched with effect from 1st October 2020 to incentivize creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during COVID-19 pandemic. This scheme reduces the financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries including MSMEs and encourages them to hire more workers. Under ABRY, Government of India is providing for a period of two years, both the employees’ share (12% of wages) and employer’s share (12% of wages) of contribution payable or only the employees’ share, depending on employment strength of the EPFO registered establishments.

National Career Service (NCS): Platform for Job Seekers

• Government is implementing the National Career Service (NCS) Project which provides employment related services and also has a digital portal that provides a nation-wide online platform for the job seekers and employers for job-matching in a dynamic manner. All services on NCS are free of cost.