Govt approves Employment Linked Incentive scheme, disburses Rs 99,446 crore for job creation

To boost job opportunities and social security, the Centre on Tuesday approved the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme across all sectors.

Under the ELI scheme, while the first-time employees will get one month’s wage up to Rs 15,000, the employers will be given incentives for a period of two years for generating additional employment, with extended benefits for another two years for the manufacturing sector.

The Centre had announced the ELI scheme in the Union Budget 2024-25 to support employment generation, skilling, and other opportunities for India's 4.1 crore youth.

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With an outlay of Rs 99,446 Crore, the ELI Scheme aims to create more than 3.5 crore jobs over a period of two years. The benefits of the schemes will come into effect between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2027.

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For first-time employees, with salaries up to Rs 1 lakh, the scheme will offer one-month EPF wage up to Rs 15,000 in two installments. The first installment will be payable after 6 months of service, and the second installment will be payable after 12 months of service and completion of a financial literacy programme by the employee.

Additionally, the employers will get incentives with respect to employees with salaries up to Rs 1 lakh. The Centre will incentivize employers, up to Rs 3000 per month, for two years, for each additional employee with sustained employment for at least six months. For the manufacturing sector, incentives will be extended to the 3rd and 4th years as well.

The payments to first-time employees will be made through the DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) mode using the Aadhar Bridge Payment System (ABPS). On the other hand, payments to the employers will be made directly into their PAN-linked Accounts.