Budget focuses on job creation via hike in capital, infra spending

THE MINISTER PROPOSED A SHARP 26% HIKE IN CAPITAL SPENDING IN FY22 TO ₹5.54 TRILLION OVER WHAT IS BEING SPENT THIS FISCAL

NEW DELHI: Employment generation was a recurring theme in the budget as finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized job creation through increased capital spending via the national infrastructure pipeline (NIP), as well as creation of textile parks, disinvestment of public sector enterprises and enhancement of the emergency credit line to MSMES.

Post disinvestment, the economic growth of central public sector enterprises and financial institutions will be through infusion of private capital, technology and best management practices. It will contribute to economic growth and new jobs, the budget documents said.

According to the Budget document, an estimated 140,000 jobs will be created in central government departments between 2019 and March 2021. The strength of government establishments was 3,271,113 as on March 1, 2019, which is estimated to increase to 3,414,226 by the first day of next month

— an increase of 143,113, it said.

A bulk of these new jobs are likely to be created in the ministry of mines, with 5,305 employment opportunities to be added, according to the budget document.

The minister also proposed a sharp 26% hike in capital spending in FY22 to ₹5.54 trillion over what is being spent this fiscal to rev up the economy. The higher capital spending will help finance projects under NIP, which will not only help in asset creation but also prove to be a stimulus for employment generation.

“To further extend our efforts towards the unorganized labour force, particularly migrant workers, I propose to launch a portal that will collect relevant information on gig, building and construction workers, among others. This will help formulate health, housing, skill, insurance, credit and food schemes for migrant workers,” she said.

For a $5 trillion economy, the manufacturing sector has to grow in double digits on a sustained basis and the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative in 13 sectors “will help bring scale and size in key sectors, create and nurture global champions and provide jobs to our youth”, the minister said.

Additionally, a total of 4,072 jobs are estimated to be created in the department of health and family welfare, with its strength of 20,907 on March 1, 2019, set to increase to 24,979 by March 1, this year, according to the document.