Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana - Maharashtra, TN, Gujarat topped

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat have emerged as leaders in reaping the benefits of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), according to a recent report until 05-12-2023.

With a staggering 1.52 lakh establishments and 60.49 lakhs employees availing the scheme's advantages totaling 10043.02 crores, ABRY, part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package, aims to boost the economy post-Covid.

Reason for the launch of ABRY scheme and its objectives:

ABRY scheme was announced as a part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package and came into effect from 1st October 2020. Its main objectives include boosting the economy; increasing the employment generation in the post Covid recovery phase; incentivizing the creation of new employment with social security benefits and restoring the loss of employment during pandemic.

The scheme was established to fulfill the aim of the Code on Social Security, 2020 (SS Code) which is to extend social security benefits for all workers including the workers in unorganized sectors as well as gig and platform workers.

Eligibility Criteria:

· An employee getting a monthly wage of less than Rs.15000, who was not working in any establishment registered with the EPFO before 1st October, 2020 is eligible for the benefit.

· Additionally, the employees who lost their job during Covid-19 pandemic and did not join in any EPF (Employee Provident Fund) covered establishment upto 30.09.2020 are also eligible for the benefit.

Assistance given under the scheme:

In order to create more employment, the scheme is implemented through the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) which reduces the financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries and encourages them to hire more workers.

Under the scheme, the Indian government is crediting both the employee' share (12% of wages) and employer's share (12% of wages) for a period of two years or only the employee's share, depending on employment strength of the EPFO registered establishments. With this reduced financial burden, companies can hire more workers.

State-wise details of the beneficiaries under ABRY:

As per a recent government report, approximately 60.49 lakhs employees across the country benefited under the scheme. The states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat bagged the top 3 positions for the most number of beneficiaries under the ABRY scheme. Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana bagged the 4th, 5th and 6th positions respectively.

The table showing the details of the beneficiaries under ABRY is as follows:

Sector wise details of the beneficiaries under ABRY:

Among the beneficiaries under the scheme, most of them belong to the Expert Services sector which has approximately 21 lakh beneficiaries. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place was taken by Textiles, Trading & Commercial establishments, Engineering & Engg contractors and Garment Making sectors respectively.

The table showing the sector wise details of the beneficiaries under ABRY is as follows: