Aim to implement 3 employment-linked incentive schemes by the end of year, says labour secretary Dawra

Labour secretary Sumita Dawra.

The government is looking to implement the three employment-linked incentive (ELI) schemes, announced in the Budget in July, by the end of 2024.

"There has been talk about developing skilled labour in India and we feel the Budget has made very significant intervention in that direction. We are also working to ensure that all three the ELI schemes are operational by the end of this calendar year," labour secretary Sumita Dawra told Moneycontrol in an interview on August 9.

The three schemes are part of the Prime Minister’s “Budget package” of five plans that aim to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 41 million youth over a five-year period with an outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore.

While the Centre will refer to existing data sets, including the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), to design the ELI plan, the labour department, along with 25 ministries, is working to collate direct and indirect employment figures generated via various central and state government programmes.

"Our ministry felt that there is a gap and let’s try and capture the data of the various centrally sponsored and state sponsored schemes that generate employment," Dawra said.

The National Career Service (NCS) portal, too, would help the government in ascertaining the trend in job availability, while the SIDH (Skill India Digital Hub) portal would connect companies to potential employees, she said.

"We are also aligning the SIDH portal with the NCS to connect skilled workers with eligible jobs," Dawra said.

Under ELI Scheme A, the government will reimburse a month’s wage, up to Rs 15,000 in three instalments, as a subsidy to people entering the workforce for the first time.

The Scheme B is focussed on bulk hiring of first timers in the manufacturing sector. The government will in the first two years reimburse 24 percent of the wage, 16 percent in the third year and and 8 percent in the fourth year provided the employer hires 50 employees or 25 percent of the work force under EPFO and retains them for at least 12 months.

Under Scheme C, the government will reimburse the employers’ share of EPFO, up to Rs 3,000 a month for two years. This will be applicable to establishments that hire additional two employees (if their headcount is less than 50) and five employees (if the headcount is more than 50).