On October 1, 2020, the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojna (ABRY), an initiative to create employment was launched. The aim of this initiative was to create new jobs and restore jobs that were lost due to the pandemic-induced lockdown. The good news is that the initiative has already benefited over 60 lakh people.
On 12 December, 2022, Minister of State for Labour and Employer Rameshwar Teli, stated in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, “The terminal date for registration of beneficiaries was 31 March, 2022. As on November 28, 2022, benefits have been provided to 60.13 lakh beneficiaries,”
While speaking about the issue of unemployment, Teli informed the Parliament, that the Government has taken various measures to improve employability. It has prioritised the policies that can help curb unemployment due to the pandemic. The ABRY package was announced to boost businesses and handle the adverse impact of unemployment because of COVID-19. Various long-term schemes, policies, plans and programmes were included in the ABRY package.
During the budget session 2021-22, the production-linked incentive (PIL) scheme was launched, which allotted 1.97 lakh crore rupees for a five-year plan, to start from 2021-22. This PIL scheme was expected to create 60 lakh new jobs.
On 8 Dec 2022, the Ministry of Labour and Employment allocated an amount of Rs 6,400 crores for the FY 2022-23 for ABRY. Teli also informed that 43.66 lakh loans amounting to Rs 4,396.12 crore have been disbursed to 37.95 lakh beneficiaries under the scheme. Additionally, the Government is also encouraging other schemes, plans and programmes to generate more jobs.
