In response to a question asked in the Lok Sabha on Monday (February 3, 2025), the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment informed that the unemployment rate in the country has come down by about 50 percent in the last 6 years. Official data on employment and unemployment is collected through the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). The survey period is from July to June every year. According to the latest report, the estimated unemployment rate (UR) for persons aged 15 years and above has come down from 6.0% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24. To reduce the unemployment rate, the government’s priority is to improve employment capacity along with employment generation. Keeping this in mind, several steps have been taken to generate job opportunities through various employment generation schemes/programmes. The Ministry has informed that the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY), Rural Self-Employment and Training Institute (RSETI), Standup India, Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Production Linked Incentive (PLI), Make in India, Startup India aim to promote employment generation. The government is implementing Skill India Mission (SIM) to provide skill, re-skilling and up-skilling training through a wide network of skill development centres, schools, colleges and institutions etc. through various schemes. Pradhan Mantri Kaushalya Vikas Yojana, Jan Shikshan Sansthan and Shilpakar Taalim Yojana (CTS) are being run through ITI. SIM aims to equip India’s youth with the skills required for industry and make them future-ready. Apart from this, the government has announced 5 schemes in the Budget 2024-25 to facilitate employment, skills and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a period of 5 years, involving a central expenditure of Rs 2 lakh crore.