Parliament Question: Employment Generation for the Youth

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 330 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02ND FEBRUARY, 2026 EMPLOYMENT GENERATION FOR THE YOUTH 330. DR. ALOK KUMAR SUMAN: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) the details of the present status of employment generation for youth in the country; (b) the details of the schemes in force for skill development and employment; (c) the details of the efforts being made by the Government to coordinate with the private sector; (d) the mechanism to provide social security by the Government to the youth of the unorganized sector; and (e) the steps proposed to be taken by the Government to increase employment opportunities in future in the country? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (e): 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 the latest available Annual PLFS Reports, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) on usual status for age 15 years and above has increased from 46.8% in 2017-18 to 58.2% in 2023-24, indicating that the WPR i.e., employment has increasing trend. 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.Under the Government of India’s Skill India Mission (SIM) , the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) delivers skill, re-skill and up-skill training through an extensive network of skill development centres 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), to all the sections of the society across the country. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills. The Ministry of Labour and Employment had launched e-Shram portal on 26.08.2021 for creation of a Comprehensive National Database of Unorganised Workers including platform workers, migrant workers, etc. The e-Shram portal is meant to register and support the unorganised workers by providing them a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self- declaration basis. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has also launched the e-Shram- ‘One-Stop-Solution’ that entails integration of different social security/welfare schemes at single portal i.e., e-Shram. This is envisaged to enable unorganised workers registered on e-Shram to access social security schemes and see benefits availed by them so far, through e-Shram. The Central Government has formulated the four Labour Codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, theCode on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 after amalgamating, simplifying and rationalising the relevant provisions of the previous 29 Central Labour Acts. The four Labour Codes have come into force with effect from 21st November 2025 across the country. The four Labour Codes reduce multiplicity of definitions & authorities, facilitate use of technology, bring transparency & accountability in enforcement. Simultaneously, it strengthens the protection available to workers, including unorganized workers.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 information on jobs from private and government sectors, online & offline job fairs, job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, skill development courses, skill/training programmes etc. through a digital platform [www.ncs.gov.in]. Further, the NCS portal has integrated with leading skilling platforms and initiatives to enhance employability. Signing MoUs with the private and public employers/ portals/Platforms is part of the Ministry’s strategy to strengthen public- private partnerships for enhancing employment opportunities. Till date more than 35 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed including MoUs with private partners such as Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon, and Zepto which provide gig and platform-based employment opportunities to job seekers through the NCS portal across the country. The National Career Service (NCS) portal has been integrated with the e-Shram portal, which is a database of over 31 crore unorganized workers, including gig and platform workers. This integration enables e- Shram registrants to access the full range of services available on the NCS portal, such as job search and related facilities. 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. *****