Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday, August 21 that the government will pay the provident fund (PF) share of employer and employee till 2022 for those people who lost their jobs, but were again called back to work in small-scale jobs in the formal sector and whose units are registered in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
Central govt will pay the PF share of the employer as well as the employee till 2022 for people who lost their job but again called back to work in small scale jobs in the formal sector whose units are registered in EPFO: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pic.twitter.com/9fDXzLdBSC
— ANI (@ANI) August 21, 2021
“If in a district, more than 25,000 migrant workers working in the informal sector return to their native place, [they] will get benefits from 16 Central schemes for employment. In 2020, we increased the MGNREGA budget from ₹60,000 cr to around ₹1 lakh crore due to Covid,” the minister added.
Sitharaman was in Lucknow for the launch of several schemes and initiatives. She addressed the audience at the launch of ‘Mission Shakti 3.0’, under which ₹30.12 crores were transferred in the account of 1.55 lakh girls. Sitharaman said women shall spearhead the development of Uttar Pradesh under chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s leadership.
The provisional payroll data of retirement body EPFO released on Friday, August 20, highlighted a growing trend with as many as 12.83 lakh net payroll additions during June 2021.
The impact of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic waned in June, with respect to payroll data, resulting in huge growth compared to April and May this year, according to EPFO. The data’s month-on-month analysis highlighted an increase of 5.09 lakh additions in net subscribers during June this year, compared to May 2021.
The Union finance minister also attended the launch of the ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund’ (USF) and interacted with founders of various companies, including start-ups, identified under the Ubharte Sitaare programme. The programme identifies Indian companies that have the potential to be future champions in the domestic arena while catering to global demands.
Sitharaman said Uttar Pradesh has effectively implemented the One District One Product Programme, which provides the ideal ecosystem for the success of a program like the Ubharte Sitaare Programme.
