Parliament Question: Employment Opportunities for Workers in Hingoli

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5925 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30TH MARCH, 2026 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORKERS IN HINGOLI 5925. SHRI AASHTIKAR PATIL NAGESH BAPURAO: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that the large number of youth and workers in Hingoli district of Maharashtra are facing unemployment and underemployment due to limited industrial development and lack of organised sector jobs and if so, the reasons therefor; (b) whether the Government has conducted any assessment regarding employment generation, skill development and labour welfare coverage in the said district and if so, the details thereof; (c) the details of schemes implemented by the Government for providing social security, skill training and employment opportunities to workers and unemployed youth in the said district during the last three years and the current year, year-wise; and (d) whether the Government proposes to establish new skill development centres, labour welfare offices or take employment generation initiatives in the said district to improve livelihood opportunities and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (d): The official data on Employment and Unemployment is collected through Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which is conducted by 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 youth of age 15-29 years has decreased from 15.0% in 2017-18 to 10.8% in 2023-24 and the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment on usual status for youth of age 15-29 years has increased from 33.7% to 40.1% in the State of Maharashtra (including Hingoli district) during the same period.Also, the percentage distribution of regular wage/salary workers on usual status have increased from 28.9% in 2017-18 to 31.3% in 2023- 24 in the State of Maharashtra. 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 in the country out of which more than 28.62 lakhs net subscribers have joined EPFO during the same period in the State of Maharashtra. Employment generation coupled with improving employability is a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/programmes in the country (including Maharashtra). 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. The Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability through Upgraded ITIs (PM- SETU) scheme envisages to enhance the overall quality and relevance of vocational training with upgraded labs, machines, and industry-aligned curriculum in the country. The scheme focuses on upgradation of 1,000 Government ITIs in hub and spoke arrangement with industry aligned revamped trades (courses) and Capacity Augmentation of five (5) National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs), including setting up of five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling in these institutes. 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.As a part of legislative reforms, the existing 29 Acts in the central sphere have been subsumed in the four Codes viz, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020. The Codes have been enforced with effect from 21 November, 2025. These Codes aim to catalyze creation of employment opportunities while ensuring safety, health and social security of every worker by promoting ease of doing business through simplification, rationalization and reduction in compliance burden; raising thresholds for factory license, contract labour license, prior permission for retrenchment, lay- off and closure and certification of standing orders. 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]. *****