Employment schme

Dr. K. Murugan
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics
Guru Nanak College
Chennai-42.

1. Employment Generation Programmes in India by Dr. K . Murugan Assistant Professor Dept. of Economics Guru Nanak College Chennai-42.

2. According to estimation by the Tendulkar Committee the number of Below Poverty Line (BPL) declined to 21.9 percent of the population in 2011-12 from 29.8 percent in 2009-10 and 37.2% in 2004-05. The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index-2018 by the UN noted that 271 million people moved out of poverty between 2005/06 and 2015/16 in India. The poverty rate in the country has nearly halved, falling from 55% to 28% over the ten-year period. Still a big part of the population in India is living Below the Poverty Line. As per Tendulkar Committee this estimation is around 21.9% of the total population of the country.

3. 1. Integrated Rural Development Programme The IRDP was introduced in 1978-79 and universalized from 2nd October, 1980. The aim at providing assistance to the rural poor in the form of subsidy and bank credit for productive employment opportunities through successive plan periods. On 1st April, 1999, the IRDP and allied programmes were merged into Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). The SGSY on organizing the rural poor into self-help groups, capacity-building, planning of activity clusters, infra­structure support, technology, credit and marketing linkages.

4. 2. Jawahar Rozgar Yojana / Jawahar Gram Samriddhi Yojana : Under the Wage Employment Programmes , the National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) and Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) were started in Sixth and Seventh Plans. The NREP and RLEGP were merged in April 1989 under Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY). The JRY was meant to generate meaningful employment opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed in rural areas through the creation of economic infrastructure and community and social assets.

5. The JRY was revamped from 1st April, 1999, as Jawahar Gram Samriddhi Yojana (JGSY). It now became a programme for the creation of rural economic infrastructure with employment generation. 3. Rural Housing Indira Awaas Yojana : LAY programme aims at providing free housing to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in rural areas and main targets would be the households of SC/STs. It was first merged with the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) in 1989 and in 1996 it broke away from JRY into a separate housing scheme for the rural poor.

6. 4. Food for Work Programme : The Food for Work Programme was started in 2000-01 as a component of EAS full form??. It was first launched in eight drought-affected states of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttaranchal. It aims at enhancing food security through wage employment. Food grains are supplied to states free of cost, however, the supply of food grains from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns has been slow.

7. 5. Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY): The JGSY, EAS and Food for Work Programme were revamped and merged under the new Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) Scheme from 1st September, 2001. The main objective of the scheme continues to be the generation of wage employment, creation of durable economic infrastructure in rural areas and provision of food and nutrition security for the poor.

8. 6. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005: It was launched on February 2, 2005.  The Act provides 100 days assured employment every year to every rural household. One-third of the proposed jobs would be reserved for women.  The central government will also establish National Employment Guarantee Funds. Similarly, state governments will establish State Employment Guarantee Funds for implementation of the scheme. Under the programme , if an applicant is not provided employment within 15 days s/he will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.

9. Salient features of MGNREGA are: I. Right based framework II. Time bound guarantee of employment III. Labour intensive work IV. Women empowerment V. Transparency and accountability VI. Adequate funding by central government

10. 7. National Food for Work Programme : It was launched on November 14, 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country. The objective of the programme was to provide additional resources available under Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojna . This was 100% centrally funded programme . Now this programme has been subsumed in the MGNREGA from Feb 2, 2006. 8. National Rural Livelihood Mission: Ajeevika It is a part of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)–the mission for poverty reduction is called Ajeevika (2011).

11. It evolves out the need to diversify the needs of the rural poor and provide them jobs with regular income on monthly basis. Self Help groups are formed at the village level to help the needy. 9. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna : The cabinet on March 21, 2015 cleared the scheme to provide skill training to 1.4 million youth with an overall outlay of Rs. 1120 crore . This plan is implemented with the help of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation. It will focus on fresh entrant to the labour market, especially labour market and class X and XII dropouts.

12. 10. National Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojna (HRIDAY): HRIDAY scheme was launched (21 Jan. 2015) to preserve and rejuvenate the rich cultural heritage of the country. This Rs. 500 crore programme was launched by Urban Development Ministry in New Delhi. Initially it is launched in 12 cities: Amritsar, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri , Ajmer, Mathura, Dwarka , Badami , Velankanni , Kanchipuram , Warangal and Amarvati . These programmes played/are playing a very crucial role in the development of the all sections of the society so that the concept of holistic development can be ensured in the real sense.

13. The central government is the welfare government that is why its social welfare schemes are made to increase the welfare of the general public. Schemes of the Central Government have three categories. These categories are “Core of Core Schemes”, “Core Schemes” and Major Central Sector Schemes. There are around 6 schemes in the list of ‘Core of Core Schemes’ and 28 schemes in the Core Sectors. The approval of projects under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) increased 44% during the first five months (April - August) of the financial year 2020-21.

14. Khadi has approved and forwarded 1.03 lakh project applications to the banks as compared to 71,556 projects during the corresponding period in 2019. The Government of India approved the introduction of a credit linked subsidy programme  called Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) in 2008 for generation of employment opportunities through establishment of micro enterprises in rural as well as urban areas. Administration: It is a central sector scheme being administered by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ( MoMSME ).

15. Implementing Agency at the National Level:  Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) - a statutory organization under the administrative control of the Ministry of MSME. Features: It allows entrepreneurs to set up factories or units. Eligibility: Any individual, above 18 years of age. Only new projects/units are considered for sanction of loans.

16. Self-help groups that have not availed benefits under any other public scheme, societies, production co-operative societies, and charitable trusts. Maximum Cost of Project/Unit Admissible: Manufacturing Sector: Rs. 25 lakh Service Sector: Rs.10 lakh Rural Areas: 25% for general category and 35% for special category, which includes SC/ST/OBC/Minorities, NER, Hill and Border Areas. Urban Areas: 15% for general category and 25% for special category. Role of Banks: Loans are provided by Public Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Co-operative Banks and Private Scheduled Commercial Banks approved by respective State Task Force Committee.

17. The MoMSME has also launched a scheme of ‘second financial assistance’ to help the PMEGP and  Mudra  units expand or upgrade. Challenges The Scheme is crippled by structural issues and high rate of  NPA.  From 2015-16 to 2019-20, assistance of Rs. 10,169 crore was provided. Out of this, Rs. 1,537 crore has turned out to be NPA. A deficiency in skills, lack of market study, low demand and stiff competition are believed to be the key reasons for such a large number of NPAs. While normally all central schemes are given definite annual targets, this scheme is not driven by any such target. As both the states and the banks work without the aim of completing the annual target of disbursement of loans, the programme may lose its drive.

18. Besides providing financial support, the government  needs to conduct an intensive training programme to help potential entrepreneurs  focus on the right market and right products. The scheme can prove beneficial at the time when the economy needs to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Timely disbursal of funds  is crucial for execution of projects and creating employment in the country.  

19. Scheme for Employment Generation in The Country Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority concern of the Government .  Government has taken various steps for generating employment in the country like encouraging private sector of economy, fast tracking various projects involving substantial investment and increasing public expenditure on schemes like Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) run by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) scheme run by Ministry of Rural Development and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) run by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.

20. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has been initiated by Government for facilitating self-employment. Under PMMY collateral free loans upto Rs. 10 lakh , are extended to small/micro business enterprises and to individuals to enable them to setup or expand their business activities. Till 25 th  January, 2019, total 15.59 crore loans have been sanctioned under the scheme.

21. Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana has been initiated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the year 2016-17 for incentivizing employers for employment generation. Under this scheme, Government is paying the entire employer’s contribution (12% or as admissible) towards the EPS and EPF for all sectors w.e.f . 01.04.2018 to all eligible new employees for the next 3 years from the date of registration of the new employee. Till 28 th  January, 2019, benefits have been given to 1.29 lakh establishments covering 1.05 crore beneficiaries.

22. Under Skill India Mission, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is implementing a flagship scheme known as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2016-20 with an objective to provide skilling to one crore people under Short Term Training (STT), Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Special Project (SP) across the country for four years i.e. 2016-2020 with an outlay of Rs. 12,000 crore . Under the scheme, short duration skill development training programme is being imparted to all prospective candidates including candidates belonging to BPL in the country.

23. Under PMKVY 2016-20, as on 24.01.2019, 37.32 lakh ( appx .) candidates have been trained under STT (25.25 lakh ), RPL (11.27 lakh ) and Special Project (0.8 lakh ) in the country. Under PMKVY 2016-20 scheme, placement tracking is mandatory. The placement data is reported within 90 days of certification of trained candidate. As per data reported on SDMS, as on 24.01.2019, 21.03 lakh candidates are certified under STT and SPs of PMKVY 2016-20. The number of candidates certified under STT and SPs of PMKVY 90 days prior i.e. 26.10.2018 is 19.39 lakh . Out of these candidates, as on 24.01.2019, 10.64 lakh candidates have been placed in various sectors across the country.

24. The focus of the meeting was on the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), a flagship scheme of the Ministry of MSME, and Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). In addition, the issue of restructuring of stressed loans to MSMEs was also discussed to find a way forward to support MSMEs. The cut-off date for restructuring of loans to MSMEs has been extended up to 31st December 2020.

25. The work done by the Banks in supporting setting up large number of enterprises under PMEGP over the past years, was commended, which has particularly seen a two-fold increase in last Financial Year when more than 73,000 micro enterprises were assisted. To give further boost to the scheme, the target in the current year has been increased to support the establishments of 80,000 units. Discussions were also held with Banks on increasing the reach of Credit Guarantee scheme. Government has set a target of increasing credit guarantee to Rs. 50,000 crores under this scheme, which is a jump of about 67% over the last year.

26. Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme : Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) is a credit-linked subsidy programme introduced by the government of India in 2008. It promotes self-employment through setting up of micro enterprises, where subsidy up to 35 % is provided by the Government through Ministry of MSME for loans up to Rs. 25 lakhs in manufacturing and Rs 10 lakhs in service sector. The scheme is administered by Ministry of Micro, Small and medium Enterprises.

27. The PMEGP Scheme is being implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) at the national level. At the State level, the Scheme is being implemented through State Khadi and Village Industries Commission Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards and District Industries Centres and banks. Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE):  The scheme was launched by the Government of India to make available collateral-free credit to the micro and small enterprise sector.

28. Both the existing and the new enterprises are eligible to be covered under the scheme. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, GoI and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), established a Trust named CGTMSE to implement the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises. Since its inception, CGTMSE has facilitated easy access to credit from organized banking sector to first generation entrepreneurs in the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) sector.