Eli Scheme to offer Cash Support to First-Time Workers and Employers Hiring New Staff

The government’s new ₹ 1 Lakh Crore Employment-Linked Inventive (Eli) Scheme will provide direct cash benefits to first-time works and finance Jobs, according to Vandana Gurnani, Secretary, Ministry of Labor & Employment, in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18.

“With this scheme, people will enter the job market. Employers are often heesitant to hire fresh joinees but with this scheme’s support, they can,” Gurnani said. “We aim to improve skilling and productivity and enable long-term Employment.”

The Eli Scheme, Approved by the Union Cabinet earlier this week, will go live For a longer duration – for years instead of two. Labor-Intensive Sector Such as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES), Textiles, Electronics, IT, IT, and Food Processing are expected to Benefit the Most.
The scheme has two components-Scheme a for first-time employees and scheme b for employers hiring new works.

Scheme a offers Direct Benefit Transfers of Up to ₹ 15,000 in two installations to first-time Workers earning up to ₹ 1 Lakh Per Year. The Amount will be credited directly to their aadhaar-linked bank accounts. “Scheme a is only for the employees,” Gurnani said. “It Provides Social Security, Financial Literacy, and Inclusion in the EPFO ​​NET, which means pension, provident fund, and insurance.”

Scheme b support employees by offering ₹ 3,000 per Employee per month for two years. Employers with fewer than 50 workers must hire at least two new employers, while that with over 50 Must hire five. Payments will be made only after Six months of Continuous Employment. “This ensures that there is sustained employment, skilling, and a productivity increase,” Gurnani said.

She also indicated that internship programs may be linked to the scheme in future to support smooter transmissions into formal Employment. “There has certainly been discussion on this, and more discusations will follow,” She said.

Gurnani added that eli is part of a broader Employment-Focused Package, which include cabinet approval for upgrading industry training institutes (ITIS) and setting up five centers of Excelance to Meet Exelance to Meet Skill demands.

On the onboarding process, gurnani highlighted its simplicity. “Nobody has to really apply. For Employees, Face Authentication via the Umang App and An Aadhaar-Linked Bank Account is Suffering.

To prevent misuse, Strong Safeguards have been built in. “Payments will be made only after Six Months of Epfo Contribution and Submission of Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) Filings,” Gurnani Said. “The Money Goes only INTO Aadhaar-Linked Bank Accounts of Employees and Pan-Linked Accounts of Employers. That’s Another Layer of Protection.”

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