Executive Summary:
This document outlines the Indian Ministry of Labour and Employment's initiatives and budgetary support for improving employment, skill, and entrepreneurship opportunities for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and Minority Communities in the financial year 2025-26. It details various schemes, allocations, and monitoring mechanisms, including the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme. The response also provides registration data from employment exchanges.
Key Points / Main Content:
* **Budgetary Allocations:**
* Financial year 2025-26 budgetary allocations for various schemes are detailed in the annexure, totaling Rs. 31820.80 Crores.
* Schemes include Labour and Employment Statistical System (LESS), Labour Welfare Scheme (LWS), Employees Pension Scheme (EPS), and the New Employment Generation Scheme (NEGS) ELI.
* **Welfare of SC/ST Jobseekers Scheme:**
* Implemented through 25 National Career Service Centres for SC/STs.
* Aims to enhance employability through vocational guidance, career counseling, computer training, and pre-recruitment training.
* Budget allocation for 2025-26 is Rs. 20.61 Crore.
* **Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme:**
* Approved by the Union Government to support employment generation, enhance employability, and social security.
* First-time employees can get one month's wage up to Rs. 15,000.
* Employers can receive incentives for generating additional employment for two years, with extended benefits for the manufacturing sector.
* Part of PM’s package with a total budget outlay of Rs. 2 Lakh Crore for 4.1 Crore youth.
* Aims to incentivize the creation of more than 3.5 Crore jobs, including 1.92 crore jobs for first timers, over two years with an outlay of Rs 99,446 Crore.
* **Minority Affairs Initiatives:**
* Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) implements skilling and education schemes for socioeconomic development of minorities.
* Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme converges five erstwhile schemes focusing on skill development, entrepreneurship, leadership, and education.
* Budgetary allocation of Rs. 267.29 crores for PM VIKAS in FY 2025-26.
* **Skill Development Programs:**
* Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) imparts skill training through schemes like PMKVY, JSS, NAPS, and CTS.
* **Employment Exchange Registrations (in thousands):**
* **2021:** SC (361.89), ST (166.53), OBC (646.04)
* **2022:** SC (709.90), ST (242.30), OBC (967.00)
* **2023 (Provisional):** SC (1072.00), ST (480.40), OBC (1780.0)
* **Monitoring Mechanisms:**
* Regular meetings with implementing agencies to monitor schemes.
* Candidate lifecycle captured on the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) portal for PM VIKAS scheme.
* **Additional Information:**
* Details of employment generation schemes/programs are available at a provided URL.
Impact Analysis:
* **Jobseekers (SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities):**
* *Impact:* Improved access to employment, skill development, and entrepreneurship opportunities through targeted schemes and initiatives. Increased employability through vocational guidance, training, and counseling.
* *Action Required:* Register with employment exchanges and National Career Service Centres. Participate in skilling and training programs offered by MSDE and MoMA.
* **Employers:**
* *Impact:* Incentives for generating new employment, particularly in the manufacturing sector, through the ELI Scheme.
* *Action Required:* Utilize the ELI Scheme to create additional jobs and avail of associated benefits.
* **Government Agencies (Ministry of Labour and Employment, MoMA, MSDE):**
* *Impact:* Responsible for implementing and monitoring the various schemes and initiatives.
* *Action Required:* Ensure effective implementation of schemes, conduct regular monitoring, and improve outreach to target communities. Manage budgetary allocations as per the scheme guidelines.
Key Entities Referenced
Scheduled Castes SCs: A group of historically disadvantaged communities in India, often targeted by affirmative action policies.
Scheduled Tribes STs: A group of historically disadvantaged indigenous communities in India, often targeted by affirmative action policies.
Other Backward Classes OBCs: A group of historically disadvantaged communities in India, eligible for reservations in education and employment.
Ministry of Labour and Employment: The Indian government ministry responsible for labour policy, employment, and social security.
Employment Linked Incentive ELI Scheme: A scheme approved by the Union Government to support employment generation, enhance employability, and social security across all sectors, with a special focus on the manufacturing sector.
Union Budget 202425: The annual financial statement of the Government of India, presented to the Parliament.
Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan PM VIKAS: A flagship scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs MoMA focused on upliftment of minorities through Skill development, entrepreneurship and leadership of minority women and education support for school dropouts.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship MSDE: The Indian government ministry responsible for skill development and vocational training.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 190
TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.07.2025
SPECIAL INITIATIVES AND BUDGETARY SUPPORT FOR
EMPLOYMENT OF SC, ST, OBC AND MINORITIES
190. ADV. CHANDRA SHEKHAR:
Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to
state:
(a)the details of the schemes and budgetary allocations in Financial
Year 2025-26 dedicated improving employment, skill and
entrepreneurship opportunities for Scheduled Castes (SCs)
Scheduled Tribes (STs) Other Backword Classes (OBCs) and
Minority Communities along with the targets, monitoring
mechanisms and outcomes expected from these initiatives
including the recently announced Prime Minister’s package for
youth employment;
(b)the details of the semi-skilled and unskilled persons from the said
communities have registered with employment exchanges in rural
and urban areas during the last three years and the current year;
(c)the details of the secured employment and initiatives exist to
enhance placement rates for the said communities;
(d)the details of the percentage of the said beneficiaries provided
employment under key schemes of the Government from 2021-22
to 2024-25; and
(e)the details of percentage generated and placements achieved for
each group and outline steps taken to improve outreach and
effectiveness for these communities?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)
(a) to (e): The budgetary allocations under the different schemes of
Ministry of Labour & Employment inter-alia including the allocation
for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward
Classes (OBCs) and Minority Communities during the financial year
2025-26 is given at Annexure.
Contd..2/-:: 2 ::
Further, Ministry of Labour and Employment is
implementing the “Welfare of SC/ST Jobseekers Scheme” through a
network of 25 National Career Service Centres for SC/ST. The
objective of the scheme is to enhance the employability of SC/ST
jobseekers through vocational guidance, career counselling,
computer training, pre-recruitment training etc. For the year 2025-26,
Rs. 20.61 Crore has been allocated under the scheme. Regular
meetings are conducted with all the implementing agencies for
monitoring these schemes.
The Number of SC, ST and OBC Jobseekers (including
semi-skilled & unskilled) registered with Employment Exchange (in
thousand) are as below:
Calendar Year SC ST OBC
2021 361.89 166.53 646.04
2022 709.90 242.30 967.00
2023 (Provisional) 1072.00 480.40 1780.0
Employment generation coupled with improving
employability of all the sections of the society is a priority of the
Government.
To foster youth employment in particular, the Union
Government has recently approved the Employment Linked Incentive
(ELI) Scheme to support employment generation, enhance
employability and social security across all sectors, with special
focus on the manufacturing sector. Under the Scheme, while the first-
time employees can get one month’s wage (up to Rs. 15,000/-), the
employers can get incentives for a period of two years for generating
additional employment, with extended benefits for another two years
for the manufacturing sector.
The ELI Scheme was announced in the Union Budget
2024-25 as part of PM’s package of five schemes to facilitate
employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 Crore youth with
a total budget outlay of Rs. 2 Lakh Crore. With an outlay of Rs 99,446
Crore, the ELI Scheme aims to incentivize the creation of more than
3.5 Crore jobs (with 1.92 crore jobs for first timers) in the country,
over a period of 2 years. With ELI Scheme, the government intends to
catalyze job creation in all sectors, particularly in manufacturing
sector.
Contd..3/-:: 3 ::
The Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) is implementing
various skilling and education schemes for Socio-economic
development of minorities to make them employment ready. Pradhan
Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) is a flagship Scheme of
MoMA, which converges five erstwhile schemes and focuses on
upliftment of minorities through Skill development: entrepreneurship
and leadership of minority women; and education support for school
dropouts. A budgetary allocation of Rs. 267.29 crores for the FY 2025-
26 has been made for the PM VIKAS scheme. The scheme has a robust
monitoring mechanism wherein the entire candidate lifecycle is being
Captured on the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) portal of M/o Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship.
Further, Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MSDE) imparts skill training (skilling, re-skilling
and upskilling) through its various flagship Schemes viz. Pradhan
Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS),
National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsman
Training Scheme (CTS), to all the sections of the society across 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.
* *****ANNEXURE
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 190 FOR ANSWER ON 21.07.2025 REGARDING
"SPECIAL INITIATIVES AND BUDGETARY SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYMENT OF
SC, ST, OBC AND MINORITIES”.
Sl. Name of the Scheme Budget Estimates
No. 2025-26
(Rs. in Crores)
1 Labour and Employment Statistical System (LESS) 72.72
2 Labour Welfare Scheme (LWS) 50.68
3 Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 11250.00
4 Social Security for Tea Plantation Workers in Assam 66.87
5 Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PMSYM) Yojana 244.02
6 National Pension Scheme (NPS) for Traders & Self-Employed
5.10
Persons
7 e-Shram Portal - National Database of Unorganized Workers 27.80
8 Rehabilitation of Boded Labour 6.00
9 Coaching and Guidance for SC, ST and OBCs 20.61
10 National Career Service (NCS) 77.00
11 New Employment Generation Scheme (NEGS) – ELI 20000.00
Total 31820.80
*****