FM Nirmala Sitharaman says job schemes introduced in the budget not a mandate, just a nudge to companies

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has clarified that the employment-linked incentive schemes and the internship program announced in the recently announced union budget are only a nudge to the private sector and not a mandate.

The Finance Minister on July 24 said that the decision is not political. "Job creation has always been our priority and we have come up with a package of five schemes," she told one of India's leading newspapers.

“It’s not compulsory for anybody, we are nudging people to do it. Who is intruding into the private sector? By the way, you always accused us of supporting only two (groups) and not the others. Hypocrisy, thy name is Congress party," she was quoted as saying.

“As the central government, I have the convening power to nudge people towards it. Companies can optimally use their CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds and make sure that when they talk about employable skills in people who come out from, let’s say, engineering colleges, they can give opportunities to those people for apprenticeship on their shop floor,” said Sitharaman.

Three employment-linked schemes were announced in the union budget as part of the Prime Minister’s package. These schemes will be based on enrollment in Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), focus on recognition of first-time employees, and support to employees and employers.

"Our government will implement three schemes for employment-linked incentives," she said.

She further said that the budget has every continuity from the interim budget and nothing has been dropped, but newer things have been added.

Addressing the inflation and price pressure, Sitharaman said, “We will have to wait for the meteorological department to tell us whether it (monsoon) has been in the adequate range. There are several things which are being done for perishables — storage, irradiation. There is a scheme for MSME irradiation as well, which will help perishables last longer and reach the market even when it is not production season."

"We have announced measures to have vegetable production clusters around major cities. There are several ways in which we are managing food products, particularly perishables. We want to ensure better supply chain linkages," she added.