Union Budget 2025: Employment And Growth Amidst Slowing Economy

New Delhi: In Union Budget 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unfolded a series of measures aimed at creating jobs and enhancing employment across various sectors in India. The budget features strategic interventions for labour-intensive industries among others, including footwear, leather, toys, and tourism, along with a heavy emphasis on skilling and entrepreneurship.

 

A historic announcement was the launch of the National Manufacturing Mission, intended to build a future-ready workforce for in-demand jobs. While creating new employment opportunities through upskilling and workforce development, the mission will pay particular attention to areas demonstrating high growth prospects.

 

Sitharaman has also put in place a Focus Product Scheme (FPS), particularly for the footwear and leather industries. It is expected that FPS would create about 2.2 million jobs along with work with a turnover of ₹4 lakh crore. This scheme is part of a more extensive set of measures designed to enhance productivity, quality, and competitiveness in India's leather and footwear industry, thus allowing the country to bolster its export potential.

 

The scheme would particularly support the production of non-leather footwear with support to the leather footwear and products segment with an export turnover expected to reach 1.1 lakh crore.

 

Naina Lal Kidwai, a past FICCI president and Chair of the India Sanitation Coalition, told ETV Bharat, "Creating more jobs is essential. The more employment we generate, the greater the demand and consumption, which in turn drives private-sector investment to meet that demand. The reduction in taxes also puts more money in individuals’ hands, but employment plays a crucial role as well."