New Delhi: In a written reply to Lok Sabha on Monday, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region Shri G. Kishan Reddy stated that ” the Government has taken various initiatives to improve employment opportunities for youth including those in the NER. These include the interlinking of the ‘Udyam’, ‘e-Shram’, National Career Service (NCS), and the Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee-Employer Mapping (ASEEM). Besides, the NCS portal of the Ministry of Labour & Employment (ML&E) has been integrated with State portals including most States of NER. 25 NCS centers for scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) have been established, out of which 06 are in NER in addition to the 02 centers for the differently abled.
Under the Skill India Mission, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is implementing the Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) under which, various interventions in States, including NER, are being made. These include institutional strengthening at the State & district levels; quality assurance of skill development programs; and inclusion of marginalized populations in skill development programs. MSDE also implements the Accelerated Mission for Better Employment & Retention (AMBER) project that aims towards improved employment and retention of candidates post-completion of the short-term skill development training program. MSDE has issued the Notification of Common Norms (2015) wherein, 30% or the last tranche of the base cost of all skilling schemes is being incentivized for placement.
Under the Norms, an additional amount for skilling is provided in Special Areas including the NER States. Further, post-placement support @ Rs. 1,500 per month for Special Areas including the NER States is also provisioned. The Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati, under MSDE imparts 388 training programs such as Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP), Skill Development Program (SDP), Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Program (ESDP), etc. During the financial year 2021-22, 10,116 participants have been imparted training under various programs.
For improving the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), promote higher education and for encouraging children belonging to the economically weaker section of the NE region, the University Grants Commission (UGC), under the Ministry of Education (MoE) has launched the “Ishan Uday” scholarship scheme for NER. The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) facilitates the expansion of educational development in NER by providing opportunities for higher education, training, skill development, and other initiatives through its network of 09 Regional Centres (RC) and 535 Learners Support centers (LSCs) in the NER. Under the scheme of setting up 20 Indian Institute of Information (IIIT) in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, 03 such IIITs have been set up in NER. The North Eastern Regional Office of UGC provides financial support for the construction of hostels for boys in SC/ST concentrated districts. The Department of Sports has established a National Sports University (NSU) in Imphal to focus on sports education and provide support to the sporting talent of the region.
The Ministry of Rural Development implements schemes, including in the NER, for creating employment and supporting livelihoods. These are the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), DeenDayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural Self Employment Training Institutes, National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), and Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM)
The North East Handicrafts and Handlooms Corporation Ltd. (NEHHDC) under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) provides handholding support to the artisans and weavers of the NER by skilling them and creating market linkages to enable them to continue their traditional skills and provide them gainful employment. The North Eastern Council (NEC) under MDoNER has launched the “Advancing North East” portal – a one-stop solution for career and livelihood for the youth of NER.
The MoE has launched the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ program which aims to enhance interaction & promote mutual understanding between people of different States/UTs including all States of NER. Ministry of Home Affairs has taken various steps such as the issuance of advisories/instructions to the State Governments/UTs regarding action plans for providing security to people from the North Eastern Region, the appointment of nodal officers in States/UTs to address the grievances of people from NER, and sensitization of enforcement agencies to take appropriate action in any case of harassment. A Special Police Unit for North East Region (SPUNER) has been set up by Delhi Police and a special helpline number 1093 and a dedicated email, ne.complaints@mha.gov.in for lodging complaints/grievances by people of NER have also been started. A three-member Monitoring Committee has been set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs with two members belonging to NER for monitoring of issues and redressal of grievances relating to racial discrimination faced by people from NER residing in different parts of the country.
NCS has also partnered with Microsoft and launched ‘DigiSaksham’, a joint digital skills initiative for employability through digital skills. M/o L&E has also launched the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana’ (ARBY), to boost the economy, increase the employment generation in the post-COVID recovery phase, and incentivize the creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the Census 2011, there are 1,52,05,214 migrants in the North East Region (NER) states. Of these, 93.80% (1,42,62,490) are intra-state migrants and only 6.20% (9,44,050) are inter-state migrants. The all-India figure for inter-state migration is 11.90% and 88.10% for intra-state migration. The top three states to which inter-state migration from the NER States occurs are West Bengal (39.56%), Delhi (7.66%), and Maharashtra (7.4%). Although Government has no data regarding migration from North Eastern States for the last three years to safeguard the interest of the migrant workers, the Central Government enacted the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 which provides different safeguards against the exploitation of migrant workers.
