© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
With the allocation earmarked to various government schemes under the 2025-26 Budget, the Union government is targeting the creation of more than 21 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities in sectors such as fisheries, tourism, food processing, textiles, and electronics manufacturing, among others.
While this figure is over 20 per cent more than the jobs target of some of these schemes under the Union budget presented in July last year. That year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a scheme to one crore youth over five years, which was seen as a long-term push at creating employment. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is implementing a pilot project of the PM Internship Scheme, targeted at providing 1.25 lakh internship opportunities to the youth in the top companies in the 2024-25. A budget of `840 crore has been approved for this. So far, 1.27 lakh internship opportunities have been posted by the companies. Against these, approximately 6.21 lakh applications have been received.
Under the PM Vishwakarma Yojana, a scheme that provides support to artisans and craftspeople in India, the government is targeting that more than 61 lakh artisans including women, and those from the SC, ST and OBC communities, will attain self-employment.
As per the Outcome Budget document, the maximum jobs target is for the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, which is aiming to employ 11 lakh people. Incidentally, the jobs target for this scheme was exactly the same in 2024-25.
Second in the list is the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme, which has a target of creating employment opportunities for 5.8 lakh people. Launched in August 2008, the scheme is a credit-linked subsidy scheme, administered by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
With an eye on improving the industrial ecosystem in the North East, the government is aiming to complete 25 industrial infrastructure projects in the region, and is targeting to create 1.2 lakh employment opportunities. In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala also said that a modified UDAN scheme will be launched to enhance regional connectivity to 120 new destinations and carry 4 crore passengers in the next 10 years. The scheme will also support helipads and smaller airports in hilly, aspirational, and North East region districts.
Under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles, the Budget has targeted that more than 35,000 people will be employed. Last year, The Indian Express had reported that the PLI scheme for textiles, notified in September 2021, initially set a target of creating 7.5 lakh jobs, but the Cabinet approved a job target of just 2.5 lakh, had created only 12,607 jobs over the last two years and three months till June 2024.
Under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS), the government is targeting to create 30,000 jobs. The scheme was first announced in 2012 to offset disability and attract investments in Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) Industries.
In the more new age sectors, there is a modest expectation of job creation. Under the scheme to set up a semiconductor fabrication plant in India, part of the government’s `76,000 crore India Semiconductor Mission, only 100 people are expected to be employed. This could be because the fab – being built by Tata Electronics with technology from Taiwan’s Powerchip – is currently under construction in Gujarat, and is not expected to start production until at least next year. However, it is worth noting that the jobs target in 2024-25 was 300.
Under the scheme to set up chip assembly plants – where companies like Micron, CG power, Tata Electronics, and Kaynes Technology have been approved – 1,200 people are expected to be employed in 2025-26. In the previous year, the target was 1,400. All these plants are also currently under construction.
