The West Bengal Government launched two flagship schemes on Thursday to support the unorganised and unemployed population.
The State Government will set up an Employment Bank to bridge the gap between job seekers and providers and issue Samajik Mukti Card to people in the unorganised sector. According to the Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, close to 20 lakh people will benefit from both these schemes this year.
Samajik Mukti Card is a photo identity card and will help employees to draw State Government aid in the form of medical benefits, pension and provident fund. The State Government plans to set up a monitoring committee under the auspices of the labour department to supervise the smooth implementation of the schemes.
“The work of setting up an Employment Bank is under progress. I urge all unemployed people in the State to get enrolled in the Employment Bank,” she said at the launch of the schemes here on Thursday . According to Ms Banerjee, close to six lakh people have already been offered jobs ever since she came to power.
“I had a target of providing employment to 10 lakh people in five years. I have already provided employment to six lakh people. But more needs to be done as there are close to one crore unemployed people in the State,” she said.