Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY)

✦Key Features

• Budget: ₹99,446 crore — India's largest employment-linked incentive scheme ever
• Part A (Employees): one-month EPF wage (max ₹15,000) in 2 instalments for first-time EPFO contributors earning up to ₹1 lakh/month
• Part B (Employers): monthly incentive per additional employee; up to ₹3,000/month per new hire for 2 years
• Manufacturing sector: extended 4-year employer incentive (vs 2 years for other sectors)
• Target: 3.5 crore new formal jobs (1.92 crore first-time workers + employer-created jobs)
• Gig workers: identity cards, e-Shram registration, PM-JAY healthcare coverage
• Data validation: GST, CBDT, MCA, ESIC, Udyam portals cross-referenced

✓Eligibility Criteria

• New employees entering the formal workforce for the first time with a monthly salary of up to one lakh rupees.
• Employers and business establishments registered with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
• Companies that demonstrate an increase in their total workforce compared to the baseline of the previous financial year.
• Employees who possess a valid Aadhaar-seeded Universal Account Number (UAN).

★Benefits

• Direct Benefit Transfer of one month's wage, up to fifteen thousand rupees, provided to first-time employees in three installments.
• Reimbursement of the employer's share of EPFO contributions for two years for each additional employee hired.
• Financial incentives for manufacturing sector companies to encourage the large-scale hiring of new workers.
• Enhanced social security coverage for formal sector workers through mandatory provident fund and pension contributions.

▶Application Process

• Employers must register their eligible new employees on the official EPFO unified portal.
• The EPFO system automatically validates the first-time employment status through the UAN and Aadhaar database.
• Employers file monthly Electronic Challan-cum-Returns (ECR) to declare the employment details and claim the subsidy.
• The incentive amount is credited directly to the employee or employer's account via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) based on the specific scheme track.

₹ Budget Allocation

99446

Funding Ratio (Centre:State): 100% Central Sector Scheme (Directly from GoI via EPFO)

Historical Context

Evolved from the previous Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) and Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY), scaling up the budget and scope to include specific manufacturing incentives.

Sub-Schemes

Challenges

• Verification of 'first-time' employment status to prevent identity duplication.
• Inertia in MSMEs towards formal registration due to tax fears.
• Potential for 'job-hopping' just to claim the one-month wage benefit.
• Digital divide in rural areas affecting EPFO portal accessibility.

Reforms & Recommendations

• Portability of benefits across different social security schemes.
• Simplification of the EPFO compliance portal for small-scale employers.
• Inclusion of gig workers under the incentive umbrella.

Performance Statistics

SDG Linkages

Constitutional Backing

Technology Used

Success Stories

Key Takeaways

• Target of 3.5 crore formal jobs over 2 years.
• One-month wage subsidy up to ₹15,000 for first-time workers.
• Specific focus on the manufacturing sector with shared EPF contributions for 4 years.
• Employer-centric incentives for additional hiring.

Convergence Schemes

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
• Make in India 2.0
• PLI (Production Linked Incentive) Schemes

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