Leverage employment-linked incentive scheme: Labour Secretary

Labour and employment secretary Sumita Dawra Wednesday urged India Inc to leverage the employment-linked incentive (ELI) scheme announced in the 2024-25 budget to create more jobs in the manufacturing sector.

"ELI is designed to incentivise the hiring of additional workers, particularly in the manufacturing sector, by offsetting the cost of employing new workers," she said while speaking at the Global Economic Policy Forum 2024 organised by CII.

"The scheme aims to boost labour formalisation, enhance the employability of workers and support job creation in key manufacturing industries," she said, urging industry to collaborate with the government on the scheme.


According to Dawra, India's working age-population will constitute about 65% of its total population by 2030, positioning the country as a key player in addressing global labour shortages.

Dawra also urged industry to leverage new technologies, policies and practices to make India a manufacturing powerhouse, citing the example of the country's growing role as a hub for global capability centres (GCCs) that employ millions of Indians in sectors like engineering, technology and AI to contribute to global innovation while supporting the country's domestic manufacturing capabilities.