National

Incentives to employers for jobs to the disabled

NEW DELHI: The Centre has adopted the scheme of providing incentives to the private sector for promoting employment to persons with disabilities.

Under the scheme announced in the budget, the government will pay the employer’s contribution to the Employees Provident Fund and the Employees State Insurance (ESI) for the first three years. The administrative charges of 1.1 per cent of the wages of employees covered under the Employees Provident Fund &Miscellaneous Provisions (EPF&MP) Act will continue to be paid by the employer.

The government has earmarked Rs. 1,800 crore for the 11th Five-Year Plan and intends creating one lakh jobs a year in the private sector. Employees with monthly wages up to Rs. 25,000 will be covered.

The scheme will be applicable to those appointed on or after April 1, 2008 and covered under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 and the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.

The employers will have to submit a copy of the disability certificate, issued by the competent authority under various Acts, the first time when benefits under the EPF and the Employees State Insurance schemes are claimed.

The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry will make available to the EPFO and the ESI Corporation lumpsum funds by way of advance. These will be used for adjustment of individual claims received from employers under the scheme. The amount with the organisation will be replenished periodically. The initial amount will be Rs.5 crore each for both organisations and it will be subsequently enhanced.

The advance will be subject to a quarterly review by a high-level committee to be set up to monitor the implementation of the scheme.

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