Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in an incentive distribution programme held in Dehradun on Friday, June 19, 2026, under the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana, where beneficiary employers and employees were felicitated.

Context

Sharing details of the event on X, CM Dhami stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed incentive amounts of approximately ₹2,400 crore to young employees and employers across the country. The Chief Minister wrote: 'आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्द्र मोदी जी द्वारा देश के युवा कर्मचारियों एवं नियोक्ताओं को लगभग ₹2,400 करोड़ की प्रोत्साहन राशि वितरित की गई' ('Respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji distributed an incentive amount of approximately ₹2,400 crore to the country's young employees and employers').

The Dehradun event brought together eligible first-time employees and job-creating employers who have benefited under the scheme, marking a significant milestone in the central government's formal employment push.

Policy Backdrop

The Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana provides eligible first-time employees a one-time incentive of up to ₹15,000. Employers who generate additional formal jobs receive up to ₹3,000 per month per additional employee as a subsidy support.

This scheme follows the lineage of India's earlier employer-subsidy frameworks, including the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana launched in 2016-17, which provided EPF contribution subsidies to incentivise formal hiring. The current programme extends that model by also directly rewarding first-time formal job seekers, addressing both supply and demand sides of the labour market.

India's broader strategy of fiscal incentives for workforce formalisation has gained renewed focus in the post-pandemic economic recovery phase, with states like Uttarakhand playing an active role in on-ground implementation and outreach.

Stakeholders and Impact

According to CM Dhami's post, the scheme has so far facilitated employment for 15 lakh beneficiaries across the country. Both employees entering formal work for the first time and employers expanding their workforce are direct beneficiaries of the incentive structure.

For Uttarakhand, a state with a significant share of its workforce engaged in the informal sector and a history of out-migration for employment, such central schemes carry particular weight. The Dehradun event underlined the state government's commitment to channelling these central resources to local job seekers and businesses.

Young workers entering the formal economy gain not just the immediate monetary incentive but also access to social security benefits tied to formal employment, including provident fund coverage.

What's Next

Quarterly employment data releases and state-level implementation reports will be closely watched to assess whether the ₹2,400 crore disbursement translates into sustained formal job creation beyond the incentive period. The government's ability to scale the 15 lakh beneficiary count further will serve as a key metric for the scheme's success.

With CM Dhami visibly anchoring Uttarakhand's participation in central welfare rollouts, the state is expected to continue holding district-level outreach events to ensure scheme benefits reach smaller employers and first-time job seekers in remote hill areas.