Centre launches Rs 99,446 crore ELI scheme to create 3.5 cr jobs in 2 years

New Delhi: The central government on Tuesday announced the Rs 99,446 crore (almost Rs 1 lakh crore) Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme, amid opposition allegations on unemployment by choosing to focus on job generation and youth empowerment through this big-ticket commitment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi–led Union Cabinet approved various ambitious schemes and projects intended to structure India’s economic and social profile in the years to come. The ELI scheme is intended to create new employment opportunities in the formal sector with the assurance that these jobs will be sustainable in the long run. Those aware of the plan explained that the scheme would encourage formalisation of India’s labour force, increase social security, and help advance the goals of the National Manufacturing Mission. ELI will work through two components. Through Part A, fresh hires with up to Rs 1 lakh monthly salary will be given wage support of one month’s wage, with a limit of Rs 15,000. The subsidy will be released in two tranches — one after six months and the other after 12 months of continuous employment. The scheme, which is universal in its applicability to all sectors, will be operational between August 1, 2025, and July 31, 2027. The scheme will encourage the generation of over 3.5 crore employment opportunities during a period of two years, an official release stated. Part B of the scheme is aimed at encouraging employers to take on more workers over some base level.

Workers employed in all industries who take on the minimum number of staff required — at least two more workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees and at least five in larger firms — will get up to Rs 3,000 per worker per month for two years. In the case of industry, particularly manufacturing, this benefit will be available even for the third and fourth years, showing the government’s priority for promoting local industry. The ELI scheme was introduced in the Union Budget 2024-25 as one of the packages of five schemes to enable employment, skilling and other opportunities to 4.1 crore youth with a total budget outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore.

Additionally, the Cabinet authorised Rs 1 lakh crore for the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) scheme, with an intention to propel India’s technological leadership in sunrise and strategic sectors.

The centre depicted the scheme as the outcome of widespread consultations with industry, specialists, and benchmarking with global models. 

The programme will invest risk capital in projects aimed at areas like energy transition and security, climate action, deep technologies including quantum computing and robotics, artificial intelligence in agriculture, health, and education, biotechnology, digital economy, and economic security and self-reliance critical technologies. Money will pass through a tiered system, with 50-year interest-free loans and long-term concessional loans provided by the government. Money will be chanelled through second-tier institutions like special purpose vehicles (SPVs), alternative investment funds (AIFs), development finance institutions (DFIs), non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and front-line organisations. A team of secretaries reporting to the Cabinet Secretary will administer the scheme, with an ANRF Governing Board, an Executive Council, and an investment committee having strategic guidance.

While informing the key decisions to the media personnel here in the national capital, government spokesperson and Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the measures — ranging from employment generation and investments in R&D to highway construction and a holistic new sports policy — indicate the government’s approach to unlock the potential of the youth of the country and propel the vision of a developed India, or Viksit Bharat, by 2047.

Apart from that, on the infrastructure side, the Cabinet sanctioned the four-laning of the Paramakudi-Ramanathapuram National Highway in Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of Rs 1,853 crore.

The 46.7 km section is a vital segment of the Madurai-Rameshwaram-Dhanushkodi corridor. To be built under the Hybrid Annuity Mode. Additionally, the project will see the average speed of vehicles rising from 48 km/h to 80 km/h, reducing travel time between Ramanathapuram and Paramakudi from 60 minutes to 35 minutes. The expansion will greatly enhance connectivity between Madurai, Rameshwaram, Dhanushkodi, and other major towns, with the added boost of enhancing freight movement and stimulating local economies. The Cabinet also sanctioned the Khelo Bharat Niti 2025, replacing the National Sports Policy of 2001. This vision document aims to put sports in the forefront as a crucial pillar of nation-building. Its objectives stretch from developing grassroots talent and building a strong sports infrastructure to enhancing India’s global reputation, including preparations for India’s 2036 Olympic bid.

The policy also foresees sports as a development engine through promoting sports manufacturing under Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat and a global sports tourism hub status for India.

The government also wants to support innovation through incubator and accelerator programmes. The policy emphasises inclusiveness to dismantle barriers for women, economically weaker sections, tribal populations, and the disabled, while encouraging indigenous sports and espousing sports as a sustainable career choice for young people. Importantly, Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 integrates sports into the educational framework, in line with the National Education Policy 2020. It also focuses on enhancing physical literacy, promoting fitness as a way of life, and encouraging private sector partnerships for infrastructure development and funding.

Vaishnaw spoke further at the announcement, “Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 is not merely about creating champions; it is about sports becoming a way of life and a means of national unity, economic opportunity, and pride.” The policy calls for a collective approach, asking states to harmonise their sports policies with the new one and central ministries to consolidate ongoing schemes to realise the vision.

Additionally, the minister emphasised that the choices reflect what the Modi government has termed a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society” endeavour to drive India toward its developmental ambitions. As one official summarised, “From jobs to technology to national pride, these initiatives are about unlocking India’s true potential.”