Centre Unveils Rs 50,000 Cr PMGKRA Scheme To Provide Employment To Migrants From 116 Districts

The scheme which is to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Khagaria district in Bihar, at 11 am on June 20, is an outlay of Rs 50,000 Crores and covers employment plans for migrants from 116 districts in 6 States.

(File Image:PTI)

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday unveiled details of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (PMGKRA) which will focus on 25 works aimed at employment and infrastructure creation for migrant workers who suffered huge financial losses during the Coronavirus-induced lockdown. The scheme which is to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Khagaria district in Bihar, at 11 am on June 20, is an outlay of Rs 50,000 Crores and covers employment plans for migrants from 116 districts in 6 States. Addressing the media in Delhi ahead of the launch of PMGKRA, Finance Minister said that workers from all over the country wanted to go back to villages a little while after the lockdown began. Despite the pandemic, Central and State governments took cognizance of labourers' situation and made arrangements for their return to their homes. "They have gone back. We have looked at the districts to which they have largely returned. We have found that migrant workers returned in large numbers to 116 districts, spread over six states - Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan," FM Nirmmala Sitharaman said.

#GaribKalyanRozgarYojana will focus on 25 works aimed at employment and infrastructure creation PM @narendramodi will launch the yojana from Khagaria district in Bihar, at 11 am on 20th June pic.twitter.com/G3y3TnQqdY

— PIB India (@PIB_India) June 18, 2020

She added that the central and state governments have meticulously mapped the skill sets of the migrant workers who have returned in large numbers to over 100 districts spread out in six states in India.

 Going forward, Sitharaman announced that nearly 25 schemes have been designed under the program which will provide work to over 25,000 migrants who shifted to these 116 districts.

"Within 125 days, for 116 districts, nearly 25 schemes of the government will be brought together under Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan. we will reach saturation levels for each of those schemes within those 125 days," Sitharaman said, adding that everyone who needs an assignment in these 116 districts will be given work under Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan.   As per the announcements, jobs will be provided for four months in the initial installment of four months. "As we go ahead, we have to see how this works out for migrants and central government," Sitharaman said.  She announced that broadly estimated expenditure for the scheme is Rs 50,000 crores and the money allotted for this will be front-loaded. The Abhiyaan will be a coordinated effort between 12 different Ministries/Departments, namely, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport & Highways, Mines, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum & Natural Gas, New & Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom and Agriculture. WATCH | India confirms participation in RIC meet on June 23: MEA