Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15, 2025, announced the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY)—a large employment-linked programme designed to accelerate private-sector hiring.
The plan has a financial outlay of about ₹1 lakh crore (₹99,446 crore). It targets the creation of more than 3.5 crore jobs over two years.
Benefits apply to jobs created from August 1, 2025, through July 31, 2027, aligning the initiative with the government’s broader goal of moving from “Swatantra Bharat” to “Samriddha Bharat” through mass employment generation.
What the Employment-Linked Scheme Does
PM-VBRY operates as an employment-linked incentive with two complementary parts:
- Part A – Incentive for first-time employees: Workers entering the private job market for the first time and registered with EPFO are eligible for an incentive up to ₹15,000, paid in two instalments. The government releases the first instalment after six months of continuous service, and the second after twelve months along with completion of a financial literacy programme. Eligibility extends to employees with salaries up to ₹1 lakh per month, and a portion of the incentive will be kept in a savings instrument/deposit account for a fixed period to encourage saving. Payments to employees will be made through DBT using the Aadhaar-based ABPS.
- Part B – Support for employers: Establishments registered with EPFO will receive per-employee incentives for net new jobs sustained for at least six months, with a focus on manufacturing. The government will pay up to ₹3,000 per month per additional employee for two years, on a wage-slab basis (₹1,000 for EPF wage up to ₹10,000; ₹2,000 for ₹10,000–₹20,000; ₹3,000 for ₹20,000–₹1 lakh). In manufacturing, incentives extend into the third and fourth years as well. Employers with fewer than 50 employees must add at least two net new workers; those with 50 or more must add at least five to qualify. Employer payments will go to PAN-linked bank accounts.
Scale, Beneficiaries, Rationale and Positioning
The government expects to create over 3.5 crore jobs in two years, including 1.92 crore first-time entrants into the workforce.
Media briefings describe the programme as a nationwide push to catalyse private-sector hiring. The Ministry of Labour & Employment and EPFO will oversee its implementation.
The announcement places job creation at the centre of growth strategy—linking incentives directly to net new formal employment.
The scheme shares benefits between first-time employees and employers to reduce onboarding frictions and lower early-tenure attrition.
It also nudges firms to expand payrolls, particularly in manufacturing, which receives longer-duration support
The programme also embeds financial literacy and savings nudges for new workers.
This signals an emphasis on durable labour-market attachment and household financial resilience.
Key Administrative Details
- Legal/administrative anchor: Implemented via the Ministry of Labour & Employment with EPFO systems. The Union Cabinet approved the Employment-Linked Incentive (ELI), which the government re-named and implemented as the operational form of the Viksit Bharat initiative.
- Outlay and period: ₹99,446 crore for jobs created Aug 1, 2025 – Jul 31, 2027.
- Payment rails: DBT/ABPS for workers; PAN-linked accounts for employers.
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