Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday while detailing the third stimulus package, Aatmanirbhar 3.0, in a step to make India self-reliant said that new measures under Aatmanirbhar 3.0 will help tackle job loss and plunged economy in the wake of the coronavirus disease pandemic.
“I am announcing the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana which will incentivise creation of new employment opportunities during the Covid-19 recovery phase. This will be applicable for those joining employment in EPFO registered establishments on monthly wages less than Rs 15,000 per months,” said Sitharaman.
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“This will be effective from October 1, 2020. They will be covered for two years,” she added.
Her address and assertion of active recovery in India’s economy came hours after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that India is witnessing a technical recession. Sitharaman in her briefing said the markets are at a record high and the foreign reserves stand at US $560 billion.
Here Is Everything You Need To Know About Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana
Nirmala Sitharaman said that under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana scheme, EPFO-registered establishment will get subsidy for all new employees, with some conditions intact. The scheme will be operational till 30th June 2021.
An EPFO-registered company, that wants itself to be covered under the scheme, has to add at least two employees if the reference base of employees is 50 or less. However, if the reference base is more than 50, establishments will have to add a minimum of five new employees to get covered under the scheme.
If new employees in the aforementioned numbers are recruited from October 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, the establishments will be covered for the next two years.
The employees whose monthly wages are less than ₹15,000 will be covered in the scheme.
The benefit of the scheme is that the central government will give subsidy by way of EPF contributions for two years in respect of newly eligible employees. This subsidy will directly be credited in Aadhaar-seeded EPFO accounts.
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For establishments employing up to 1,000 employees, employee’s contribution (12% of wages) and employer’s contributions (12% of wages), totaling 24% of wages, will be contributed by the central govt. And for establishments employing more than 1000 employees, only employee’s EPF contributions (12% of EPF wages) will be contributed by the central government.
