Rajasthan the top beneficiary of EPFO-linked central job scheme

Rajasthan has emerged as the top beneficiary among states under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) launched during the pandemic by the central government to boost formal employment, with one in every five Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) subscribers in the state joining the workforce through the scheme.

Under the central sector scheme notified in December 2020, 20.4 per cent formal workers in Rajasthan benefited from the scheme until June 18 this year, followed by Gujarat (14.9 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (14.15 per cent), according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment data (available until June 18).

However, in terms of the total number of beneficiaries under the scheme, Maharashtra (960,000) topped the charts, followed by Tamil Nadu (800,000) and Gujarat (640,000).

Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and executive director, TeamLease Services, said the scheme (ABRY) had played a pivotal role in the formalisation of workforce since it incentivised a lot of employers to regularise their contract and informal workers.

“The government should consider extending the scheme for some more time, although it alone would not suffice to achieve formalisation. More measures are needed to be taken,” said Chakraborty.

The government had launched ABRY to incentivise employers for creation of new jobs and restoration of retrenched workers during Covid-19.

Under the scheme, for new employees with monthly wages below Rs 15,000, the government paid both the employees’ and the employers’ contribution towards EPF for two years — in total 24 per cent of wages — in establishments employing up to 1,000 workers.  

For establishments with more than 1,000 workers, the government paid only the employees’ share of EPF contribution, or 12 per cent of wages, in respect of new staffers.  

The scheme was intended to benefit a total of 7.2 million workers.

Until July this year, benefits have been provided to 5.9 million workers through 150,000 establishments in the country.

The terminal date for registration of beneficiaries under the scheme was extended from June 2021 to March this year.

The Centre spent Rs 405 crore and Rs 5,000 crore in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively, under the scheme. It has budgeted Rs 6,400 crore for the current financial year (2022-23).

Rajasthan (29.3 per cent) has also eclipsed in employment generation under the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana as percentage of total EPF subscriber base, closely followed by Haryana (29.2 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (28.3 per cent).

The scheme was launched in August 2016 to benefit workers earning up to Rs 15,000 per month. The last date for registration under the scheme ended in March 2019.

Under the scheme, employers were provided with incentive to enhance formal employment by reimbursement of 8.33 per cent the Employee Pension Scheme contribution made by the employer in respect of new employment for three consecutive years from the date of registration.