Finance Minister unveils slew of measures to boost employment in Union Budget 2024
In a bid to spur job creation across various sectors of the economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a number of initiatives in her Union Budget speech yesterday. Chief among these was a paid internship program that aims to provide valuable work experience to one crore youth at top companies over the next five years.
Under the scheme, interns will receive a monthly stipend of Rs. 5000 and a one-time assistance of Rs. 6000. Companies will bear the training costs from their CSR funds. In addition, the existing skill development program was strengthened to facilitate higher education loans of up to Rs. 7.5 lakhs per annum, benefiting 25,000 students.
To incentivize employment generation, subsidies of Rs. 3000 per month will be provided to establishments for two years for every new job created paying salaries up to Rs. 1 lakh. Three new schemes were also unveiled – one ensuring a monthly wage to all first-time job seekers, another focusing on skilling rural youth, and a third crediting PF contributions for new hires in certain sectors.
Rural and infrastructure spending was further intensified to 2.66 trillion and 11.11 trillion rupees respectively, while the fiscal deficit target was placed at a modest 4.9% of GDP. Analysts welcomed the pro-employment blueprint, expressing confidence it would help address issues of joblessness and boost consumption in the coming fiscal. With these initiatives, the government aims to facilitate one crore new employment opportunities over the next five years.
