By Shailesh Yadav

New Delhi [India], 25 March (ANI): Employment Linked Incentive Scheme (ELI) is ready to roll. The scheme is ready and in a stage of final approval, said Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Labour, and Employment Ministry in an exclusive Interview with ANI.

The secretary said the ELI Scheme is a government programme designed to increase the number of jobs created in the formal sector by offering financial incentives to employers and new hires.

The central government introduced three ELI schemes (A, B, and C) during the Union Budget 2024. The scheme benefits are proposed to be disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the beneficiary's bank account, provided it is linked to Aadhaar.

Dawra said that the ELI scheme is part of the 'Prime Minister's Package for Employment and Skilling'. We have completed the stakeholder discussion. With the suggestions of stakeholders, we have prepared the Scheme.

The scheme is in the final approval stage. After the approval of the scheme, we will pass the benefit of ELI to Employees. We will also give incentives to the employees who are giving jobs to our youths. We will soon implement this scheme.

For the New ELI, the budgetary allocation has been doubled from Rs 10,000 cr to RS 20,000 cr, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment has been allocated a historic budget of Rs 32,646 cr in FY 2025-26 for both labour welfare and employment.

Meanwhile, in a groundbreaking development for India's workforce, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is set to introduce a revolutionary new system for Provident Fund (PF) withdrawals through Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The Labour and Employment Ministry has approved the recommendation of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation that operates retail payments and settlement systems in India.

Speaking exclusively with ANI, Sumita Dawra, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, revealed that PF members will soon be able to withdraw funds through UPI and ATM by the end of May or June this year.

Dawra said that by May-end or June, members will experience a transformative change in accessing their provident funds. They will be able to view their PF account balance directly on UPI, instantly withdraw up to Rs1 lakh through an automated system, and choose their preferred bank account for transfers. (ANI)