Cabinet approves employment-linked incentive scheme to provide  social security –

 
The Union Cabinet has approved the employment-linked incentive scheme to generate employment and provide social security across all sectors, with special focus on the manufacturing sector. Briefing media about the Cabinet decisions in New Delhi today, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, first-time employees will get one month’s wage up to 15 thousand rupees under the scheme. He said the employers will be given incentives for a period of up to two years for generating additional employment, with extended benefits for another two years for the manufacturing sector.
The Minister said, the government has decided to incentivize employers, up to three thousand per month for two years, for each additional employee with sustained employment for at least six months. He said, employment-linked incentive scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 as part of the Prime Minister’s package of five schemes to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for over four crore youth with a total budget outlay of two lakh crore rupees.
The Minister informed that the Union Cabinet has also cleared  the Research Development and Innovation Scheme with a corpus of one lakh crore rupees.  The scheme aims to provide long-term financing or refinancing to spur private sector investment to bolster the country’s research and innovation ecosystem. He said, the Governing Board of Anusandhan National Research Foundation, chaired by the Prime Minister, will provide overarching strategic direction to the Research Development and Innovation Scheme.
Mr. Vaishnaw added that the National Sports Policy 2025 has also been approved to transform the country’s sporting landscape and empower citizens with sporting activities. He said, with the implementation of the policy, the goal has been set to become the top five sporting nations in the world. He highlighted that the policy aimed at strengthening sports programmes from the grassroots to elite levels, with early identification and nurturing of talent. He also said it will seek to promote the establishment of competitive leagues and competitions, and develop sports infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. He said, building world-class systems for training, coaching, and holistic athlete support is one of the key objectives of this policy. Mr. Vaishnaw noted that this policy will also help in promoting sports tourism and attracting major international events in the country.
            During the briefing,  Mr. Vaishnaw stated that the Union Cabinet has also given its nod for the construction of a four-lane Paramakudi-Ramanathapuram section in Tamil Nadu with a cost of one thousand 853 crore rupees.  The total length of the project will be 46.7 kilometres and it will provide seamless connectivity by strengthening connectivity between major religious and economic centres, boosting tourism to Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi.