The opposition parties have often chastised the BJP-led government for supposedly creating fewer job opportunities for the country’s youth. Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, has repeatedly criticized PM Modi, claiming that the national government, led by the BJP, makes false promises to India’s youth regarding massive employment opportunities. He has also on several occasions accused PM Modi of ‘snatching’ away jobs from youths. Recently, in the year 2021, Gandhi criticized PM Modi, claiming that the PM would discuss everything but unemployment. He further stated that the government only works for a few industrialists and not for ordinary individuals.
In addition, when India welcomed eight cheetahs in 2022, Gandhi took a jab at the Prime Minister, claiming that while eight cheetahs had arrived, no job opportunities had arrived in the previous eight years. Furthermore, the Congress had in mind to mark September 17, Modi’s birthday, as “National Unemployment Day.”
Apart from Rahul Gandhi many opposition leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, K C Venugopal, CPI General Secretary D Raja, etc. have also spoken against PM Modi and accused him of allegedly keeping up over the issue of poverty and unemployment in India. On September 6, the newly formed I.N.D.I.A alliance also wrote to PM Modi and said that they wanted certain issues such as unemployment, price rise, and Manipur violence, among others, to be discussed.
The first Rozgar Mela was organized in October 2022
However, the government led by PM Modi has always made massive efforts to fulfil the promises made by it to the citizens. This set of promises includes providing and opening crores of job opportunities for able youngsters of India.
PM Modi has always owned a long-term vision when it comes to generating and providing employment opportunities. He believes that when the country is heading towards becoming self-reliant, India just can’t afford to remain stagnant. While prioritizing generating employment, PM Modi on several occasions has pressed on buying local products, building new startups, and becoming ‘Aatmanirbhar’.
As per the Prime Minister, if people use local goods for the next 25 years, then the country will not have to face the issue of unemployment. Also, building new startups might open huge employment opportunities for the youth.
Apart from this, the central government also has launched the ‘Rozgar Mela’, a recruitment drive for 10 lakh personnel. The event was first launched in the month of October 2022 and during the event, around 75,000 youngsters were issued letters of appointment, as stated by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
In June 2022, PM Modi had asked various government departments and ministries to conduct the recruitment of 10 lakh people on a mission mode in around 12-18 months from then. As directed by the Prime Minister all Ministries and Departments began working towards filling up existing vacancies against sanctioned posts in Mission Mode.
What is Rozgar Mela?
The Rozgar Mela is an initiative towards fulfilling the Prime Minister’s vow to give top emphasis to job creation. The Rozgar Mela serves as a catalyst for increased job creation and meaningful possibilities for youth empowerment and engagement in national development. To be more specific, it is an employment strategy that facilitates the meeting of job seekers and employers.
The appointed individuals under the said initiative in October 2022 were supposed to join the government at various levels viz Group – A, Group – B (Gazetted), Group – B (Non-Gazetted), and Group – C. Further, the appointments under this initiative were made for the post of Central Armed Force Personnel, Sub Inspector, Constable, LDC, Steno, PA, Income Tax Inspectors, and MTS, among others.
The new appointees under Rozgar Mela have the chance to impart knowledge through Karmayogi Prarambh, an online module on the iGOT Karmayogi platform with over 400 e-learning courses available for ‘anywhere, any device’ learning.
Before the year 2022, the government organized Rozgar Melas ensuring a parallel growth in the private and industrial sectors as well. As per the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), in the year 2019, more than 700 Rozgar Melas were organized and around 93 thousand candidates were selected by the private companies in the said initiative.
8 editions of Rozgar Mela conducted in the year 2023
In the current year around 8 Rozgar Melas have been organized by the Central Government in 45 locations across India since January 2023. In January this year, PM Modi distributed around 71,000 recruitment letters to youngsters under the PM Rozgar Mela 2023. As per reports, the newly appointed recruits were provided positions such as junior engineers, locomotive drivers, technicians, police inspectors, sub-inspectors and constables, and stenographers, within the Income Tax department and with various government-run education and health-related organizations, as well as in PA roles.
PM Modi while addressing the attendees during the first Rozgar Mela of the year 2023 had said that “providing jobs to 71,000 youngsters was like providing good life to around 71,000 families.” The PM also congratulated the individuals who obtained government jobs during the event.
In February 2023, PM Modi distributed another 71,000 appointment letters to the Rozgar Mela organized in the state of Uttarakhand. PM Modi remarked during his virtual address that large-scale investments in Uttarakhand helped to create new job possibilities for the youth in the state. “This is the Amrit Kaal of unprecedented opportunities for the country’s youths,” stated PM Modi during his virtual address.
“Large-scale investments in the infrastructure sector in Uttarakhand are not only boosting connectivity to remote villages but also creating new employment and self-employment opportunities for youths near their homes so the state’s youths return to their villages,” PM Modi was further quoted as saying.
Further, in March 2023, PM Modi addressed the Rozgar Mela organized in the state of Gujarat and said that around 1.5 lakh youngsters in the state of Gujarat had obtained government jobs in the last 5 years. “When the wheels of development are in motion, employment opportunities are created in every sector. Experts from all over the world believe that India will become the biggest manufacturing hub in the coming years. The holistic approach of development by the government is generating employment on a large scale,” he was quoted as saying.
Addressing the Gujarat Rozgar Mela. Best wishes to the newly inducted appointees. https://t.co/1ZqmkxiHVR
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 6, 2023
The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of preparing a large number of qualified workers for the country’s new opportunities, stating that India has the potential to become the world’s third-largest economy. In order to ensure that every sector of society benefits from skill development, the Prime Minister stated that the government will provide equal opportunities to Dalits, the disadvantaged, tribals, and women from all regions.
Rozgar Mela organized in 45 places across India
In April 2023, the government distributed around 71,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits in Government departments under Rozgar Mela. The appointment letters were issued for the posts of 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.
Rozgar Mela was also held on May 16, 2023, in 45 places across the country as part of the Prime Minister’s resolve to give top priority to job creation. On the occasion, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur handed over appointment letters for various posts to 28 youths in Himachal Pradesh.
Thakur urged them to work for the government with complete dedication and integrity in order to eradicate corruption in government departments. He advised students to enter the government service to serve the nation rather than only pursue a government job.
“New employment opportunities have been created in the private sector along with the government sector in the country. The State Governments are also being encouraged to do the work of filling up the vacant posts. The government’s focus is now on employment,” he added.
The central government has set a target of providing 10 lakh jobs in government services, under which job fairs are being organized at the national level under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. By May this year, around 2,88,000 appointment letters had been handed over across the country in these Rozgar Melas.
Letters in June issued on the day when Tiranga was accepted by the Constituent Assembly for the first time in 1947
On June 13, another event of Rozgar Mela was organized in which PM Modi distributed around additional 70,000 recruitment certificates. In the month of July, too, more than 70,000 appointment letters were given to newly inducted recruits in various Government departments and organizations.
The new recruits were scheduled to serve in various Ministries and Departments across the country, including the Department of Revenue, Financial Services, Posts, School Education, Higher Education, Defence, Health and Family Welfare, Central Public Sector Undertakings, Water Resources, Personnel & Training, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, among others.
The event was organized in 45 places across the country. Also, the appointment letters were issued on the day when the Tiranga was accepted in its current form by the Constituent Assembly for the first time in 1947.
The Prime Minister expressed his delight that the new recruits were receiving their appointment letters for government services on such a historic day, and he encouraged them to carry the country’s name forward. He also emphasized the opportunity to contribute to the aim of Viksit Bharat came as a result of the new recruits’ hard work and perseverance at a time when India is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
And, the latest, the 8th edition of the Rozgar Mela 2023 was organized in the month of August in which the Prime Minister distributed around 51,000 recruitment certificates. Through this event, the Ministry of Home Affairs recruited personnel in various central armed police forces (CAPFs) such as the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Shashtra Seema Bal (SSB), Assam Rifles, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) as well as Delhi Police.
The Rozgar Mela is a step in fulfilling Prime Minister Modi’s promise of generating jobs. It is anticipated to serve as a catalyst for increased job creation in the coming year.
While oppositions claim that the unemployment rate in India is soaring to its all-time high, future historians will note that during his nine years as Prime Minister (PM), Narendra Modi has worked to prioritize generating jobs and institutionalizing the government recruitment procedure by instituting the practice of holding regular Rozgar Melas and enacting reforms like the elimination of interviews to ensure transparency in hiring.
At the same time, the PM has also helped the Startup movement and educated the public about alternative employment opportunities outside of the government. This led to a 300-fold increase in start-ups to about 100,000 companies, more than 100 unicorns, and India’s ranking as the third-best start-up ecosystem in the world. This also has led to an increase in the opening up of crores of private employment opportunities to the youth of the nation.
