Shift in Budget Focus
The Budget speech emphasizes employment more than before.
Prime Minister’s Employment Package
A ₹2 lakh crore package aims to help 4.1 crore youth over five years with three employment schemes.
Two schemes offer subsidies for hiring fresh entrants for at least one year.
A third scheme incentivizes companies to increase their hiring beyond the previous year’s level.
Institutes & Internships
1,000 industrial training institutes will be updated with industry-aligned courses.
An internship program will place a crore youth in 500 top companies, with the Centre covering most of the stipend.
Voluntary Corporate Participation
Firms can join the internship scheme voluntarily and use corporate social responsibility funds for remaining costs.
Jobs Crisis
The focus on employment acknowledges a problem previously downplayed by the government.
Jobless growth criticism is not new; previous governments, including UPA, faced similar issues.
Challenges with Investment Preferences
Investors prefer capital-intensive projects, partly due to outdated labor laws discouraging larger, labor-intensive units.
Impact of Economic Shocks
The informal sector, which is crucial for employment, has been hit by demonetisation, GST, and COVID-19 lockdowns.
Way forward
For employment to improve, the government must address its own vacancies and stimulate consumption to drive private sector expansion and hiring.
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