The government on Wednesday said the extension of the provident fund subsidy scheme — Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) — till the end of the current fiscal may lead to an additional 13.3 lakh employment generation in the formal sector. “Consequent upon this extension, it is expected that 71.8 lakh employment will be generated in the formal sector as against the earlier projection of 58.5 lakh,” according to an official statement.
As on June 18, 2021, benefits amounting to Rs 902 crore have been given to 21.42 lakh beneficiaries through 79,577 establishments under ABRY.
The government, however, lowered the overall scheme expenditure by Rs 712 crore to Rs 22,098 crore from Rs 22,810 crore approved earlier.
Under ABRY scheme, first announced on November 12, 2020 as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0, the Centre provides provident fund subsidy for two years in respect of new employees engaged on or after October 1, 2020. The window was earlier open till June 30; now it will remain open till March 30, 2022.
Under ABRY, the Centre is crediting for a period of two years both the employees’ and employers share’ (24% of wages) or only the employees’ share (12% of wages), depending on the strength of EPFO registered establishments.
The government aims to incentivise new recruitment by businesses with the scheme and aims to arrest the rise in unemployment rate. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the announcement on the extension on June 28; the Cabinet approved the proposal on Wednesday.