Parliament Question: High Rate of Unemployment

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4106 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18TH AUGUST, 2025 HIGH RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT 4106. SHRI N K PREMACHANDRAN: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government proposes to resolve the high rate of unemployment especially among the educated youth and if so, the details of action taken thereon; (b) whether the Government conducted any survey regarding the rate of unemployment for the last ten years and if so, the details thereof, State and year-wise; (c) whether the Government proposes to find a solution to skill mismatch between educational and industrial requirements, if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the Government initiated action for imparting vocational and entrepreneurship training and if so, the details thereof; and (e) whether the Government proposes to start more skill development centres to ensure employment to the youth in Kerala and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) & (b): The official 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. As per the latest available Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate(UR) on usual status for youth (including educated) of age 15-29 years in the country has decreased from 17.8% in 2017-18 to 10.2% in 2023-24, which is lower than the global unemployment rate for youth of 13.3 per cent [As per World Employment and Social Outlook Trends, 2024 published by International Labour Organization (ILO)].State/UT-wise, year-wise, educational level-wise information are available in the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) reports, which may be seen at https://www.mospi.gov.in/download- reports?main_cat=ODU5&cat=All&sub_category=All (c) to (e): Employment generation coupled with improving employability including youth in Kerala is a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/programmes. These inter-alia include Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs), Deen Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY- NULM), PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), Stand-up India Scheme, Start Up India , Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), etc. 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 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). The SIM aims at enabling youth of India including youth of Kerala to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills. In addition, the Government has approved 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 Government has approved National Scheme for Upgradation of ITIs and setting up National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) for skilling. The scheme aims to upgrade 1,000 ITIs through hub-and-spoke arrangements across the country including the state of Kerala. Under the scheme, course content and design will be aligned with industry skill needs with a focus to introduce new courses to address emerging areas, with the objective of creating a future- ready skilled workforce to meet the dynamic needs of India’s economy and boost industrial productivity. District Skill Committees (DSCs), set up across all States/UTs including Kerala, are mandated with formulating District Skill Development Plans (DSDPs) to promote decentralized planning for skill development and implementation at the grassroots level. The DSDPs identify sectors with employment opportunities as well as the associated demand for skilling in the district, and map the available facilities for Skill Training. Skill Development Programmes of the Government are designed and implemented to bridge identified skill gaps across sectors. 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 information on jobs from private and government sectors, information on online & offline job fairs, job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, employability enhancement programmes etc. through a digital platform[www.ncs.gov.in]. *****