7.58 million benefit from ARBY employment scheme, exceeding initial goal

The central government's employment incentive programme, Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY), has exceeded its initial goals of job generation by nearly 400,000. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Labour & Employment on Wednesday, the total number of employees benefitting from the scheme is more than 7.58 million.

The initiative was introduced on October 1, 2020 to generate fresh job opportunities.

The scheme extends financial support to employers of organisations registered with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). These funds would go towards hiring individuals at a subsidised cost by covering both employee and employer contributions, which is about 24 per cent of wages, for establishments with up to 1,000 employees. For establishments with more than 1,000 employees, on the employees' EPF contribution, 12 per cent of wages were covered for new employees.

The ABRY had set a goal of creating 7.18 million employees across India. The registrations were open until March 1, 2022. As of July 31, 2023, the ABRY's enrollment has exceeded 7.58 million employees, surpassing its initial target by over 400,000.

So far, cumulatively 152,380 establishments, employing over six million fresh employees, have availed benefits amounting to Rs 9,669.87 crore under the ABRY scheme.

The scheme ensures the distribution of benefits to eligible establishments and employees based on specific monthly criteria.

As earlier reported by Business Standard, Punjab  was the top beneficiaries of the programme were with 20.1 per cent of formal workers benefitting from the scheme as of July 18. Punjab was followed by Himachal Pradesh (19.1 per cent), Rajasthan (18.9 per cent), Gujarat (15.4 per cent), and Madhya Pradesh (14.2 per cent).

While the scheme has benefitted many, there are still around 1.5 million registrants waiting to receive benefits.