Women's pie in workforce at 18.4%
Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) Payroll Data indicates the level of employment in the formal sector. During 2024–25 alone, 26.9 lakh net female subscribers were added to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), underlining a shift towards formal employment, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shobha Karandlaje, said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
The government is implementing various schemes to boost the female LFPR, like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Stand-UP India Scheme, Startup India, Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Women in Science and Engineering- KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN), SERB-POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research), Mission Shakti, Namo Drone Didi and Lakhpati Didi, among others.
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Indian Express
41 minutes ago
- Indian Express
PM Internship Scheme: Share of female applicants surges to 41% in second pilot of govt's flagship internship scheme from 31%
A mismatch between internship opportunities and participation, and a significant gender imbalance in the first pilot round of the PM Internship Scheme earlier this year forced the government to tweak the norms of this flagship scheme. These steps taken to improve participation, including the disclosure of information about the company name, its profile and geographical location, seems to have catalysed a very tangible outcome — a sharp increase in the share of female applicants in total applicants to 41 per cent in the second round, up from 31 per cent seen in the first round. The gender imbalance with the ratio of male to female interns of 72:28 was one of the key concerns flagged by Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance to the government, as per a report of the Committee tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday. 'While appreciating the Ministry (of Corporate Affairs) for taking all efforts to achieve the ambitious target of the scheme; the Committee urges the Ministry to act swiftly and decisively to overcome/address the key challenges faced during pilot phase viz. mismatch between the number of internship opportunities offered and actual participation; longer duration of internships; under-utilisation of funds; imbalanced gender ratio of male to female interns stands at 72:28; lack of alignment between candidates' interests and the roles offered,' the report stated. The government had responded by saying that the numbers picked up after the first pilot. 'With reference to the observed gender imbalance among interns selected under the Scheme, it is submitted that in the Round I of the Pilot Project, 31 per cent of applicants were female candidates. The representation of females amongst the interns stands at 28 percent which is almost consistent with the representation of females at the application stage,' it said in response to the Committee. Low acceptance rate of the offers made under the Internship Scheme has been a key concern. Prospective applicants have also flagged some of the issues under the Scheme with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs earlier including a request to relax the age limit from 24 years to 25 years, employment prospects after internship and few openings in the IT sector in the 'Candidate Open House for the PM Internship Scheme' in March. The government told the Committee that due to the changes undertaken in the Scheme and IEC (information, education and communication) activities, there has been an increase in participation of female candidates in Round II. 'In Round II, female candidates constitute more than 41 per cent of the applicants. The selection/ joining process for Round II is ongoing,' it said. Applicants under PM Internship Scheme The first pilot round of the Scheme had witnessed a huge gap in the number of applicants and candidates accepting the offers for the internships. According to data shared by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in Parliament last week, as on July 17, over 71,000 offers were made by companies in Round II, out of which over 22,500 offers have been accepted and the selection process is still ongoing. Over 4.55 lakh applications were received from over 2.14 lakh applicants in the second round. In Round I, companies posted more than 1.27 lakh internship opportunities on the PMIS Portal across the country. Against this, over 6.21 lakh applications were received from about 1.81 lakh candidates. Over 82,000 internship offers were made to over 60,000 candidates, out of which more than 28,000 candidates accepted offers to join the internship. However, only 8,700 candidates joined the internship. Gender-wise breakup shows that while the share of females among interns improved to 41 per cent at the application stage in the second round from 31 per cent in the first round, the share of females among interns stood at 28 per cent in the first round but the corresponding figure for the interns was not available for the second round. Other issues in the PM Internship Scheme Under-utilisation of funds for the PM Internship Scheme was also flagged as one of the key issues by the Standing Committee in a separate report tabled in the Lok Sabha last week. In the financial year 2024-25, the budget estimate of Rs 2,000 crore got reduced to Rs 380 crore in revised estimate and actual spending as of mid-February stood at Rs 21.10 crore. The allocation was then hiked sharply to Rs 10,831.07 crore for the financial year 2025-26. There is a need for a dynamic reassessment of funding for the scheme, the Committee said. 'These funds suffice for the pilot phase, but dynamic reassessment of financial needs is crucial for scaling up. While these features are commendable, challenges persist regarding inclusivity, monitoring, stakeholder participation, and postinternship outcomes, impacting overall budget efficiency,' the report stated. The Committee had also noted that there is a need for the host companies to align training programs with industry skill requirements to ensure interns are industry-ready. It had recommended periodic independent evaluations for transparency and suggested relaxing eligibility norms for marginalised and economically weaker candidates. 'While the scheme is in its pilot phase, the Committee emphasises that the internship-to-employment conversion rate should be a key success indicator. The Committee, therefore, recommends establishing a robust system to monitor and track this metric, ensuring the programme effectively creates career opportunities and aligns with industry demands,' it said. Another issue flagged by the Committee was regarding the Scheme's eligibility criteria to exclude candidates if any of their family members earns over Rs 8 lakh or is a regular government employee. The committee said that the blanket exclusion of regular government employee families is unwarranted, as many earn below Rs 8 lakh and may need support under the scheme. The Ministry in its response said it is carrying out concurrent evaluation of the Scheme through a feedback survey, after which it incorporated some of the changes in the second round. To address the issue of low joining, the Ministry decided to provide the exact geotagged location of the internship to the candidates along with the company's name and profile. Additional benefits or assistance offered by the company were also made visible to the candidates. Dashboards were also provided to the state governments for active monitoring and to encourage youth participation in the scheme, it said. The Internship Scheme was a part of the Prime Minister's Package for Employment and Skilling announced in FY25 Budget with an overall outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore. The Scheme aims to provide internships to one crore youth in top 500 companies over five years. Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 4,500 is provided per month by the Government of India through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) with an additional Rs 500 offset provided by the company's CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds. The government also provides a one-time grant of Rs 6,000 per annum for incidentals to cover miscellaneous expenses incurred by the selected intern. Aanchal Magazine is Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and reports on the macro economy and fiscal policy, with a special focus on economic science, labour trends, taxation and revenue metrics. With over 13 years of newsroom experience, she has also reported in detail on macroeconomic data such as trends and policy actions related to inflation, GDP growth and fiscal arithmetic. Interested in the history of her homeland, Kashmir, she likes to read about its culture and tradition in her spare time, along with trying to map the journeys of displacement from there. ... Read More
India.com
41 minutes ago
- India.com
EPFO New Rule 2025: UMANG App Now Mandatory For UAN Generation And Activation Using Aadhaar Face Scan; How to Do It
EPFO New Rule 2025: The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced a new way to generate and activate the Universal Account Number (UAN). Starting August 1, employees can create their UAN directly through the UMANG App using Aadhaar-based face authentication, without needing help from their employer. This move by the government aims to ensure error-free and paperless UAN allotment by using biometric authentication directly linked to Aadhaar. Adding further, the new system will also help to improve accuracy by directly fetching data from the Aadhaar database, ensuring that the information is both reliable and up to date. The EPFO's new rule will also eliminates duplicate or incorrect entries, reducing errors in UAN generation. EPF Members! Complete your e-KYC quickly and securely with Face Authentication Technology (FAT) via the UMANG App. Scan the QR code to watch the step-by-step guide and stay updated!#EPFO #ईपीएफओ #EPF #ईपीएफ #EPS #ईपीएस #पीएफ #EPFOwithYou #HumHainNa #KYC #FAT #UMANG @mygovindia… — EPFO (@socialepfo) August 4, 2025 Furthermore, this method speeds up access to EPFO's digital services for members, making the overall process faster and more efficient. The change was announced in an official EPFO circular dated July 30, 2025, which stated that the traditional method of UAN generation through employers will continue only for international workers and citizens of Nepal and Bhutan. UMANG app Features Employees can generate and activate a new UAN, activate an existing but unverified UAN, or complete biometric-based face authentication for UANs that are already activated. How To Generate Or Activate UAN Via UMANG App Step 1: Enter your Aadhaar number and registered mobile number in the UMANG App. Step 2: Give your consent for Aadhaar-based authentication. Step 3: Receive an OTP on your mobile and enter it to verify your identity. Step 4: Complete a live face scan using the Aadhaar Face RD app for biometric verification. Step 5: Get your UAN automatically via SMS, with Aadhaar-linked details pre-filled into the EPFO system.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
No proposal to stop supply of Rs 500 notes: MoS Finance
The government has no plans to stop the supply of ₹500 notes, and ATMs will continue to dispense them along with ₹100 and ₹200 denominations, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told Parliament. RBI has directed that by September 2025, 75% of ATMs must dispense ₹100 or ₹200 notes, rising to 90% by March 2026. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads There is no proposal to stop supply of Rs 500 denomination banknotes and ATMs will continue disbursing Rs 500 alongside Rs 100 or Rs 200, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Parliament on Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that as part of their endeavour to enhance public access to frequently used denominations of banknotes, a circular titled 'Dispensation of Rs 100 and Rs 200 denomination banknotes through ATMs' has been issued on April 28, 2025, directing all banks and White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs) to ensure that their ATMs dispense Rs 100 and Rs 200 denomination banknotes on a regular basis, he a written response to the Rajya Sabha, he said, as per the milestones set by the RBI, 75 per cent of all ATMs would dispense either Rs 100 or Rs 200 denomination banknotes from at least one cassette by September 30, March 31, 2026, he said, 90 per cent of all ATMs would dispense either Rs 100 or Rs 200 denomination banknotes from at least one to another question, Chaudhary said Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has taken up 76 cases during the period from April 2020 to March 2025 or the last five financial the last financial year, Sebi received Rs 949.43 crore from refers to the act of compelling a person or entity to surrender any ill-gotten gains obtained through illegal or unethical practices in the securities market."Fraud and cheating are punishable offences as per Indian laws. Several central government, enforcement, and regulatory agencies have been taking action to prevent, detect, and act against investment related frauds," he the last five years, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has identified nine cases, primarily relating to multi-level marketing (MLM) scams, he the period from January 1, 2020 to July 30, 2025, the Directorate of Enforcement has taken up around 220 cases for investigation of the offence of money-laundering under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), related to investment related frauds, he assets are currently not regulated in India, he said, adding that the RBI-SACHET portal receives complaints pertaining to unauthorised deposit taking activities from unregistered/unincorporated April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2025, approximately 3,454 complaints have been received on the SACHET Portal pertaining to "non-repayment of money collected from various kinds of investment schemes", and 1,531 complaints have been received pertaining to collection of money through MLM, direct selling, and ponzi schemes, based on complaint categories selected by complainants, he said.
