India’s unemployment rate, at 2 per cent according to World Economic Forum data, is the lowest among G20 nations, Union Labour and Employment minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Monday.Speaking at the signing of MoUs between the Labour Ministry and digital mentorship platform Mentor Together and classifieds site Quikr, the minister said the figure reflected how employment generation has taken place across sectors in tandem with India’s rapid economic growth. He added that schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY) had contributed significantly, PTI reported.Mandaviya said the new partnerships would make structured mentoring and suitable job opportunities available to seekers through the National Career Service (NCS) portal. “These collaborations will further strengthen employability, particularly in light of PM-VBRY which came into effect in August this year,” he said.Under PM-VBRY, Rs 99,446 crore has been allocated to incentivise the creation of over 3.5 crore jobs in two years, including 1.92 crore first-time entrants into the workforce.Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje noted that the NCS has become India’s premier platform for digital employment facilitation, offering job matching, counselling and skilling.The partnership with Mentor Together is expected to reach 2 lakh youth in its first year, providing personalised guidance from over 24,000 trained professionals. The renewed MoU with Quikr will integrate over 1,200 daily job listings across as many cities into the NCS portal.The platform currently has nearly 52 lakh registered employers, 5.79 crore jobseekers and has mobilised over 7.22 crore vacancies. “At present, there are over 44 lakh active vacancies on the portal. Over the past year, the ministry has signed MoUs with ten key organisations, including Amazon and Swiggy, mobilising nearly five lakh vacancies,” Mandaviya said.Highlighting the government’s renewed focus on youth, he recalled that in its third term the Modi government had announced a package of five flagship schemes worth Rs 2 lakh crore to support employment, skilling and opportunities for 4.1 crore youth.Mandaviya further underlined the role of self-employment and entrepreneurship, citing schemes like MUDRA and PM SVANidhi that are helping expand opportunities across services, manufacturing and agriculture.
