Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 12 announced Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana to promote job creation. Under the scheme, EPFO-registered establishment will get subsidy for all new employees, subject to certain conditions.

Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana will be aimed at incentivising the creation of employment opportunities during the COVID-19 recovery phase. The new scheme will be in effect from October 1, 2020, till 30th June 2021.

Highlights of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana scheme:

EPFO-registered employers, if they add new employees compared to reference base of employees as compared to September 2020, will be covered under the scheme if they add a minimum of two new employees if reference base if 50 employees or less. If the reference base is over 50, establishments have to add a minimum of five new employees to get covered under the scheme.If new employees of a requisite number are recruited from October 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, the establishments will be covered for the next two years.Employees joining employment with monthly wages less than ₹15,000 will be covered under the scheme.Every EPFO-registered organisations, if they take in new employees or those who had lost jobs between March 1 and Sept 30, these employees will get benefits.Under the scheme, the centre will give subsidy by way of EPF contributions for two years in respect of newly eligible employees. The subsidy will be credited upfront in Aadhaar-seeded EPFO accounts. For establishments employing up to 1,000 employees, employee’s contribution (12 per cent of wages) and employer’s contributions (12 per cent of wages), totalling 24 per cent of wages, will be contributed by the central government. Establishments employing more than 1000 employees, only employee’s EPF contributions (12 per cent of EPF wages) will be contributed by the central government.

India is seeing a ‘strong recovery’ taking root in the economy, as seen by increased goods and service tax collections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. The recovery is not due to just pent-up demand, Sitharaman said.

She also said the RBI predicts a strong likelihood of the Indian economy returning to positive growth in Q3 of the fiscal year, ahead by a quarter of the earlier forecast.

Also Read: FM Sitharaman Announces ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ Measures To Aid Economic Revival: Key Takeaways