Job creation via provident fund subsidy: Govt to miss the target by a wide margin
Also, establishments taking new employees on or after October 2020 and up to March 2022, or employing again those who lost their jobs between March 2020 to September 2020, are eligible to avail of the scheme.
Under the ABRY, beneficiaries registered up to March 31, 2022, will continue to receive the benefits for two years from the date of registration under the scheme.
The Centre may miss the target set under a provident fund (PF) subsidy scheme to boost employment by a wide margin. The number of low earners who benefited from the scheme stood at 5.2 million as of March 12, while the target was to incentivize the creation of 7.2 million new jobs/re-employment by March 31, 2022.
Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), the Centre pays for a period of two years for both the employees’ share (12% of basic salary) and employers’ share (12%) of EPF contribution payable for firms employing up to 1,000 people. Also, the employees’ share is paid by the government for those earning less than Rs 15,000 a month in firms employing more than 1,000 people.
Also, establishments taking new employees on or after October 2020 and up to March 2022, or employing again those who lost their jobs between March 2020 to September 2020, are eligible to avail of the scheme.
Job creation via provident fund subsidy: Govt to miss the target by a wide margin – Under the ABRY, beneficiaries registered up to March 31, 2022, will continue to receive the benefits for two years from the date of registration under the scheme.
The ABRY was announced as one of the measures under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package to boost the economy and increase employment generation in the formal sector during a post-Covid recovery phase. The scheme was intended to minimize the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country’s economy and ameliorate the hardship faced by low-paid workers.
While approving the scheme in December 2020, the Cabinet had pegged the scheme expenditure at Rs 22,810 crore for the entire scheme period of 2020-2023. In June last year, the terminal date of registration of beneficiaries was extended by nine months to March 2022, but the estimated expenditure amount was reduced to Rs 22,098 crore. At the same time, the number of targeted beneficiaries increased to 7.18 million from the earlier projection of 5.85 million.
The labour ministry, through the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO, the implementing agency for the scheme, is trying various means to encourage people to avail the opportunity. Employers not registered under the ABRY are being informed through messages on the EPFO’s employer portal. Webinars are being conducted through zonal and regional offices of the EPFO with employers and employer associations.