(This story originally appeared in on Feb 19, 2020)

Agencies

Agencies

NEW DELHI: Some of the government’s flagship employment generation and placement schemes, such as the PM’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), are expected to see a steep decline in job creation during the current fiscal, going by data tabled in Parliament.According to details provided by minister for labour and employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar , the number of jobs generated under PMEGP plummeted from about 5.9 lakh in 2018-19 to about 2.6 lakh in 2019-20 (until December 31, 2019). The fall is less sharp compared to 2017-18 when the number of persons benefited was 3.9 lakh.PM’s Employment Generation Programme is a credit-linked subsidy programme run by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises with Khadi and Village Industries Commission as the nodal agency for implementing the programme at the national level. The 2019-20 PMEGP figures are the lowest yet, since the NDA government assumed office in 2014.Government data pointed to a steep decline in placement of people skilled under DAY-NULM, from 1.8 lakh in 2018-19 to a little over 44,000 in current fiscal, according to data until January 27, 2020. As with PMEG, 2018-19 saw a higher number than 2017-18 (115,416) and 2016-17 (151,901). The sharpest decline in job generation under PMEGP is in Assam and J&K. The DAYNULM drop was most drastic in states like Gujarat and MP.Government data on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Schemeshows a slowdown in 2019-20 with persondays generated falling from 26,796 in 2018-19 to 20,577, lowest since 2015-16. Again, the fall is less drastic compared to persondays in 2017-18 (23,373) and 2016-17 (23,565).The pace of skilling and placements under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) also declined with the number of persons trained falling from 2.4 lakh to 1.74 lakh, and the number getting jobs declining from 1.35 lakh in 2018-19 to 1.1 lakh this year. Here too 2018-19 stands out as high performing compared to previous years.