Parliament Question: Employment for SCs

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2340 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12TH MARCH, 2026 EMPLOYMENT FOR SCs 2340. SHRI CHANDRAKANT DAMODAR HANDORE: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether the employment opportunities for SCs is gradually declining in organized industry since initiation of reforms; (b) if so, the number of SCs employed during the last three years; and (c) the measures taken by Government to increase their employment? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (c): 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 every year. As per latest PLFS report, Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment and Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in the country, are as follows: in (%) Indicator/ Year 2017-18 2023-24 LFPR 37.6 45.1 WPR 35.2 43.6 UR 6.3 3.3 Source: PLFS, MoSPI Above table indicates that for the Scheduled Caste (SC), LFPR and WPR has increased during the years 2017-18 to 2023-24, while UR has decreased during the same period. 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.In so far as the employment opportunities in the Central Government is concerned, reservation is provided to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Economically Weaker Sections EWS @ 15%, 7.5%, 27% and 10% respectively in civil posts and services to be filled by direct recruitment on all India basis by open competition. As regards the vacant posts in the Government, it is stated that occurrence and filling up of vacant posts, including reserved category vacancies in various Ministries/ Departments is a continuous process. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India is striving to uplift and empower disadvantaged and marginalized sections of the society, particularly the SC and OBC Community. A first of its kind, Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) was launched by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in 2014-2015. A similar scheme for backward classes (VCF-BC) was launched in 2017-2018. Financial support from Rs l0 lakh to Rs 15 Crores is provided under VCF-SC and VCF-BC at coupon rate of 4% and 6% respectively. The scheme is applicable PAN India. The schemes inter-alia, aim to provide concessional finance to Schedule Caste and Backward Classes entrepreneurs, who will create wealth and value for society and at the same time will promote their profitable businesses, which also enhances direct and indirect employment generation for these communities. Ministry of Labour and Employment is also implementing the “Welfare of SC/ST jobseekers Scheme” through the network of 25 National Career Service Centres for SC/ST (NCSC-SC/STs) across the country to enhance the employability of SC/ST jobseekers through pre recruitment training, vocational guidance, career counselling and computer training etc. with a view to prepare them to meet the demands of the labour market. In addition, the 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. *****