How PM Rojgar Protsahan Yojna (PMRPY) is impacting the life of rural youths in India

Written by Mr. SK Sharma, Advocate

For ages, unemployment has been a major concern for India and its youth. As per the data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) the rate of hiring is not increasing, and neither are the numbers of jobs being lost. However, according to government data, more than 1.2 crore Indians enter the workforce each year, which is a huge number. India is one of the youngest countries in the world has a sizeable number of unemployed youth.

Research says there are around 31 million unemployed Indians, continuously seeking but failing to get jobs.

The condition is even darker in rural India. These people, in search of jobs, will certainly migrate to cities, but most of them fail to find jobs and, thus, remain unemployed, leaving them with no choice but to stay back in their homes and help their families. To overcome this issue, Government of India started Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojna (PMRPY) in August 2016.

The scheme aims to incentivize employers for generating new jobs, where the GOI pays the employer’s contribution of Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) for any new employment generated.

The success of this scheme, over the years, has encouraged the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to approve its scope.

The government now contributes the employers’ full admissible contribution for the first three years from the date a new employee is registered for all the sectors, including existing beneficiaries for their remaining period of three years, which was not the case earlier.

The scheme was able to add about 31 lakh beneficiaries to the formal employment, with an expenditure of more than Rs 500 crore. It pays the complete 12% employer share, which otherwise was only 8.33% in its starting phase.

Now, the government plans to pay the employer’s Employee Pension Scheme (EPS) share of 8.33 percent and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) of 3.67% (12 percent in total) with effect from 1st April 2018 for all the sectors.

The scheme proposes to make it applicable to the unemployed semi-skilled and unskilled population which makes it a worthy plan.

Even this year’s budget received Rs 1,652 crore for PMRPY, an amount higher than the revised estimate of Rs 500 crore than the previous year’s budget.

Not only this scheme has increased employment generation but has also improved the ease of doing business across India. Besides, it has reduced the burden on the part of employers as s/he need not remit even 3.67% of employer shares than what used to be in the earlier norms.

The achievements hitherto, clearly indicates that PMRPY is doing well in the country. The government is taking all the concrete measures to create more employment opportunities, especially in rural India.

It is estimated that around 70 lakh formal jobs would be generated this year. Currently, the GDP is growing by 7.4%, backed by huge investments in the country’s infrastructure. And with PMRPY, the more we create formal jobs, the more India will steer towards betterment.

It is not that India has less talent; the only concern is that people don’t get the right jobs and the wages they aspire for. Due to low industrial productivity, youths are facing a job crisis. And, to alleviate this problem, PMRPY is a well-thought and practically feasible programme.

Hopefully, it continues to flourish, and Indian youth, especially among the rural populace, achieve what they deserve in the coming years.

The government of India is working progressively towards economic growth to provide jobs before going for the elections of 2019. Thus, this scheme can prove its sustainability and counter the limits of the current growth. It is paving a new wave of employment in the country.

The PMRPY has a dual benefit as it not only provides jobs to the job seeker but also gives the employer the incentive of increasing the employment base of workers.

It is a direct benefit to the workers as they could access to social security benefits of the organized sector. This plan targets the workers who earn less than INR 15,000 per month.

Thus, it would encourage employers of Small and Medium Enterprises and Micro Business to avail the benefits of this plan.

There is no doubt that the scheme will benefit a large number of unemployed youth.

If this problem of unemployment is curbed, it will not only help in the development of the country economically but also reduce social problems like crimes and suicides in the youth.

Mr. Sharma is  specialized in industrial relations and labour laws for more than two and a half decades. He has very close association with Labour Laws Institute, a Charitable Trust, which organizes programme on Labour related laws
HE IS ALSO the Vice Chairman of Advocates Welfare Association and Justice (AWAAJ), President of Shakti Educational & Cultural Society, and the Hony General Secretary of the Association of Industries and Institutions registered under Societies Registration Act.