PM Modi to distribute 71,000 appointment letters to recruits under Rozgar Mela: A look at job creation under the Modi government

By: Yash Gupte

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Rozgar Mela is a step towards fulfilment of the commitment of the Prime Minister to accord highest priority to employment generation and it is expected to act as a catalyst in further employment generation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will distribute 71,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits on April 13, 2023 via video conferencing. The distribution of the appointment letters is the part of PM Rozgar Mela, a mass recruitment drive of the Modi government. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Rozgar Mela is a step towards fulfilment of the commitment of the Prime Minister to accord highest priority to employment generation and it is expected to act as a catalyst in further employment generation and provide meaningful opportunities to the youth for their empowerment and participation in national development. PM Modi had launched Rozgar Mela, a mass recruitment drive for 10 lakh personnel through video conferencing on October 22, 2022.

Narendra Modi during his electoral campaign in 2014 had promised of creating 2 crore jobs every year. Also, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2022 budget speech had announced that the government will be creating 60 lakh jobs. India Tracker takes a look at the number of jobs created by the government in last eight years.

The new recruits, selected from across the country, will join various positions/posts under Government of India like Train Manager, Station Master, Sr. commercial cum Ticket Clerk, Inspector, Sub Inspectors, Constable, Stenographer, Junior Accountant, Postal Assistant, Income Tax Inspector, Tax Assistant, Sr Draughtsman, JE/Supervisor, Assistant Professor, Teacher, Librarian, Nurse, Probationary Officers, PA, MTS, among others. The newly inducted appointees will also get an opportunity to train themselves through Karmayogi Prarambh, which is an online orientation course for all new appointees in various Government departments. The prime minister had earlier in June urged that 10 lakh individuals be hired on a "mission mode" by various government agencies over the next year and a half.

Source: Reply to Lok Sabha by Union Minister of state for Personnel Jitendra Singh

According to the Union Minister of State for Personnel, Jitendra Singh’ reply to the Lok Sabha in the monsoon session of 2022, over 22 crore aspirants had applied for the central government jobs in last eight years between 2014 and 2022. Out of the 22 crore applicants, only 7.22 lakh were successful in getting a government job. The year 2018-19 witnessed the lowest job creation by the central government as only 38,100 jobs were created. The following year witnessed the highest job creation in last eight years as 1,47,096 central government jobs were created in different ministries and departments of the central government. The highest number of job application were received in 2018-19 which witnessed the lowest job creation. Around 5,09,36,479 applications were received for jobs across various central government ministries and departments.

Source: Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy

The mass recruitment drive or the Rozgar Mela has been arranged by the central government at a very crucial point of time as the election in the state of Karnataka is less than a month away. Also, according to the latest data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), India's unemployment rate rose to 7.8 percent in March 2023 from 7.45 percent in February. The urban unemployment rate also increased sharply to 8.51 percent in March from 7.93 percent in February. Similarly, an increase was also recorded in the rural unemployment rate in March as the joblessness rate in rural India increased from 7.23 percent in February to 7.47 percent in March. The recruitment drive tends to help BJP in countering criticism over unemployment in different states.

Therefore the data shows a different story as the job creation by the central government has been lower than the promised figures. Taking into consideration the number of applicants and jobs created by the central government over the last eight years, Narendra Modi’s dream of creating 10 lakh jobs over the next 18 months seems to be a difficult one to achieve.

But it should also be noted that apart from the direct job creation for filling the positions in the ministries and departments of the central government, the Modi government has launched a number of schemes which offers employment opportunities to the youth. Make in India, Start-up India, Digital India, Smart City Mission, Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY) are some of the schemes launched by the central government aimed at job creation.

Also, apart from direct job creation, the Modi government has launched a number of infrastructure projects across the country which would provide employment to many people. PM Modi had highlighted the same during the launch of Rozgar Mela in October 2022. He highlighted the aspect of employment generation through infrastructure creation. He informed that thousands of kilometers of National Highways have been constructed across the country in the last eight years and work is being constantly done across the country on doubling, gauge conversion, and electrification of railway lines. He further added that new airports are being built in the country, railway stations are being modernised, and new waterways are being built providing employment to a number of people.