Parliament Question: Implementation of Employment Generation Schemes in West Bengal

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2473 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03RD AUGUST, 2026 IMPLEMENTATION OF EMPLOYMENT GENERATION SCHEMES IN WEST BENGAL 2473. MS SAYANI GHOSH: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) the details of employment generation schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri-Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY) being implemented in West Bengal, along with the funds allocated, released and utilised since its inception; (b) the details of beneficiaries, employment generated and incentives released under the said schemes, district-wise; (c) whether the West Bengal Government is implementing all the schemes related to employment and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the Government has assessed the impact of the said schemes on formal employment, youth employment and women's employment in West Bengal and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the details of measures taken by the Government to improve implementation, employer participation and employment outcomes under the said schemes in West-Bengal? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (e): Employment generation coupled with improving employability is a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes inthe country including the State of West Bengal. 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 ‘Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana (PMVBRY)’ to promote employment generation, enhance employability, and strengthen social security across all sectors including MSMEs and rural enterprises, with a particular focus on the manufacturing sector. The scheme comprises two of parts, i.e. Part A and Part B, and focuses on providing support to both employees and employers by way of incentives. Part A of the scheme, incentivise the first-time employees of both existing and new establishments by providing one month’s EPF wage, subject to a maximum of ₹15,000. Part B incentivises employers by providing upto ₹3000 per month for each additional employment sustained for atleast six months. In the State of West Bengal, an amount of ₹25.48 Crore has been disbursed to 64,716 first-time employees under Part A of the Scheme. Further, under Part B of the Scheme, an amount of ₹68.81 Crore has been disbursed to 3,493 eligible establishments for creation of 89,297 additional jobs. Official estimates of employment and unemployment in India are derived from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation since 2017–18. The PLFS methodology was revamped with effect from January 2025. The PLFS Annual Report 2025 is the first report in the revised series to present labour market estimates, covering the period from January to December 2025. As per the latest Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above in the State of West Bengal has increased from55.0% in 2022 to 57.4% in 2025. Further, the estimated WPR for youth and women were 41.3% and 36.3% in 2025, respectively. 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. Additionally, 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. 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. 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]. *****