Focus on Youth:

• Provision of Rs 1.48 lakh cr has been made for education, employment, and skilling

• Govt will incentivise additional employment in the manufacturing sector

• DBT of one-month salary in 3 instalments to first-time employees will be up to Rs 15,000

New Delhi: In a big push for employment, skilling and other opportunities, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced an outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore for several schemes targeting 4.1 crore youth in the Budget for 2024-25. In her Budget speech, Sitharaman said ‘employment and skilling’ is among the nine top priorities of the government for “generating ample opportunities for all” and the programmes are aimed to incentivise both employees as well as employers.

“I am happy to announce the Prime Minister’s package of five schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a five-year period with a central outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore,” she said. For FY25, the finance minister said a provision of Rs 1.48 lakh crore has been made for education, employment, and skilling. She said the government will implement three schemes for ‘Employment Linked Incentive’, as part of the Prime Minister’s package. “These will be based on enrolment in the EPFO, and focus on recognition of first-time employees, and support to employees and employers,” Sitharaman added.

Sharing the details, she said a new scheme for ‘first timers’ will “provide one-month wage to all persons newly entering the workforce in all formal sectors”. The direct benefit transfer of one-month salary in three instalments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO, will be up to Rs 15,000. The eligibility limit will be a salary of Rs 1 lakh per month. “The scheme is expected to benefit 210 lakh youth,” Sitharaman said. Under the ‘job creation in manufacturing’ scheme, she said the government will incentivise additional employment in the manufacturing sector, linked to the employment of first-time employees.

“An incentive will be provided at specified scale directly both to the employee and the employer with respect to their EPFO contribution in the first four years of employment,” the finance minister said, adding that the scheme is expected to benefit 30 lakh youth entering employment, and their employers. A third scheme, ‘support to employers’ is an employer-focussed scheme will cover additional employment in all sectors. All additional employment within a salary of Rs 1 lakh per month will be counted.