The Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Rameshwar Teli, released data regarding the status of employment in the country. He mentioned how the number of insured persons under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) scheme had increased from 3.1 crore in 2021-22 to 3.43 crore in 2022-23.

Besides many flagship programs like Make in India, Start-up India, Stand-up India, Digital India, and Housing for All, the government has been pursuing other innovative schemes to foster the country’s employment opportunities. 

In a bid to stimulate indigenous businesses and alleviate the enduring consequences of the Pandemic, the government had announced its illustrious Aatmanirbhar Bharat package that disburses funds amounting to a whopping Rs 27 lakh crores as a fiscal stimulus that is to be used for executing a gamut of schemes, programmes, and policies aimed towards making India self-reliant and creating employment opportunities for Indians.

Launched on October 1, 2020, the flagship Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) aims at incentivising employers and stimulating them to create new employment opportunities and make amends for the loss of employment during the pandemic. As of January 2024, as many as 60.49 lakh people have availed of this scheme.

The government also launched the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi Scheme) in June 2020, intending to facilitate street vendors with collateral-free working capital loans for restarting their pandemic-stained businesses. As of January 2024, the number of beneficiaries under this Yojana exceeds 83.67 lakh.

To facilitate self-employment, the government launched the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) through which micro/small business enterprises or individuals could avail of collateral-free loans extending up to Rs. 10 lakh for setting up or expanding their business ventures. Till January 26, 2024, as many as 46.16 crore loans were sanctioned under this scheme.

The government implemented the illustrious Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, having the capability of creating 60 lakh new jobs, with an outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore for five years starting from 2021-22.