Gujarat laggard in flagship Central schemes aimed to generate jobs

Gujarat is laggard in flagship schemes of the central government aimed to promote generation of employment, according to a central government statement.

Gujarat's share in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Gujarat generated just 0.9 per cent to 2.18 per cent of person days generated nationally. Gujarat is also lagging in Prime Minister's Employment Guarantee Programme (PMEGP). However, the performance improves in Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY). Inspite of this, it still fares behind its traditional competitors.

According to a statement by Ministry of Labour and Employment, Gujarat generated 2.25 crore person days under MNGREGS in 2015-16, 2.71 crore person days in 2016-17, 3.53 crore person days in 2017-18 and 1.8 crore person days in 18-19 (up to July 20). Percentage-wise, this is 0.9 per cent (15-16), 1.1 per cent (16-17), 1.5 per cent (17-18) and 2.18 per cent (Q1 of 18-19) of person days generated nationally under the scheme. Here Gujarat lags behind not just traditional competitors like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka; it also lags behind states like Assam, Bihar, J&K, Jharkhand and Tripura.

Similarly, Gujarat generated 45,229 jobs under Prime Minister's Employment Guarantee Programme (PMEGP) since fiscal 2015-17 up to June 30, 2018. States like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and West Bengal have fared much better than Gujarat under the scheme.

However, when it comes to Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY), Gujarat fared much better.