AI SummaryAtmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) was launched by central government to incentivize creation of new employment opportunities during the COVID recovery phase. Under this scheme, central government provided incentive for employers and new employees of eligible establishments registered with EPFO. New employees received incentive for two years from their date of registration. The scheme has now been replaced by Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY), which came into effect on 1 August 2025.
ABRY stood commenced from 1st October, 2020 and remained open for registration of eligible employers and new employees up to 31st March 2022 (earlier 30 June 2021). The benefit was available for a period of twenty-four months from date of registration of new employee, not later than 31/03/2024 (earlier 30/06/2023) in any case. Since the scheme period has ended, new registrations under ABRY are no longer accepted.
Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana Registration 2026
The registration facility under Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana was extended till 31 March 2022 and benefit was available till 31 March 2024. Here are some of the key highlights of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana:-
- Incentive for employers & new employees of eligible establishments registered with EPFO.
- New employees received incentive for 2 years from his/her date of registration.
- Incentive in the form of payment of
- Both employees & employer's contribution, i.e., 24% of wages in respect of new employees employed in establishments having up to 1000 employees, &
- Only Employees EPF contribution, i.e., 12% of wages in respect of new employees employed in establishments having more than 1000 employees.
- Establishment was eligible for incentive if they added prescribed minimum number of new employees, over and above the reference base.
- Reference Base of Employees was taken as Number of Contributory EPF members in ECR for September, 2020.
- New employees joining with monthly wage of less than Rs. 15,000/- were entitled to receive benefits for 24 wage months from date registration.
- Establishments registered with EPFO after 01.10.2020 got benefits in respect of all new employees.
Who are Eligible to make ABRY Scheme Registration
The new employees joining & new establishments getting registered under EPF & MP Act, 1952, up to 31.03.2022, were eligible to register.
For more detailed information on ABRY, visit the official website at https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/abry.php
Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana Guidelines PDF
In this article on Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana 2026, we are providing you the complete details about the new employment scheme.
Amended Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana Scheme Guidelines PDF applicable from 2 July 2021 - https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_docs/PDFs/Abry/ABRY_Scheme_Guidelines_Amended_on_02_07_2021.pdf
Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana Brochure - https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_docs/PDFs/Abry/Brochure_ABRY_Scheme_Eng_25112021.pdf
Atma Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana FAQ's - https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_docs/PDFs/Abry/FAQ_ABRY.pdf
Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana Previous Guidelines as on 31 December 2020 - https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_docs/PDFs/Abry/ABRY_Scheme_Guidelines_31122020.pdf
Make Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana Registration at http://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/index.php or https://labour.gov.in/
Scale for Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana
| Establishments employing upto 1000 Employees | Establishments employing more than 1000 Employees |
| Employee's Contribution (12% of Wages), Employer's Contribution (12% of Wages), Total - 24% of Wages | Only Employee's EPF contributions (12% of EPF Wages) |
Beneficiary Criteria for Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana
The Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojna was applicable for eligible new employees joining EPFO-registered establishments and for those who exited these establishments during the COVID pandemic. The beneficiary criteria for Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana is as follows:-
- New Employees joining employment in EPFO registered establishments on monthly wages less than Rs. 15,000 during validity period of the Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana.
- EPF members drawing monthly wage of less than Rs. 15,000 who made exit from employment during COVID pandemic from 1 March 2020 to 30 September 2020 and were employed on or after 1 October 2020.
- The subsidy support was credited upfront in Aadhaar seeded EPFO Account (UAN) of eligible new employees.
Eligibility Criteria for Establishments in Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana
Establishments registered with EPFO if they added new employees compared to reference base of employees as in September 2020 as - Minimum of 2 new employees if the reference base is 50 employees or less. Minimum of 5 new employees if the reference base is more than 50 employees. Establishments registering with EPFO after commencement of Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana to get subsidy for all new employees.
Cabinet Approval for Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojna (ABRY). This Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana boosted employment in formal sector and incentivized creation of new employment opportunities during the Covid recovery phase. ABRY was announced as a part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package to boost the economy, increase the employment generation in post Covid recovery phase and to incentivize creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during COVID-19 pandemic.
- This scheme was implemented through the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), reducing the financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries and encouraged them to hire more workers.
- Under ABRY, Government of India credited for a period of two years both the employees’ share (12% of wages) and employers share’ (12% of wages) of contribution payable or only the employees’ share, depending on employment strength of the EPFO registered establishments. Under ABRY benefits were provided to every establishment registered with EPFO and their new employees (earning wage less that Rs. 15,000/- per month) if the establishments took new employees on or after 1.10.2020 and upto 30th June, 2021 or those who lost jobs between 01.03.2020 to 30.09.2020.;
- The scope of the scheme i.e. last date for registration of new employees under the scheme was extended from 30th June 2021 to 31st march 2022 with the approval of CCEA in its meeting held on 30.06.2021. Approximately 71.8 Lakh employees were likely to get benefited during the scheme period. The beneficiaries registered upto 31st March, 2022 continued to receive the benefits for 2 years from the date of registration under the scheme.
Salient Features of Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana
The salient features of the Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana are as under:-
- Indian govt. provided subsidy for 2 years in respect of new employees engaged on or after 1st October 2020 and upto 31st March 2022.
- Government of India paid both 12% employees contribution and 12% employers contribution i.e. 24% of wages towards EPF in respect of new employees in establishments employing upto 1000 employees for two years,
- Union govt. of India paid only employees share of EPF contribution i.e. 12% of wages in respect of new employees in establishments employing more than 1000 employees for two years.
- An employee drawing monthly wage of less than Rs. 15000 who was not working in any establishment registered with the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) before 1st October, 2020 and did not have a Universal Account Number or EPF Member account number prior to 1st October 2020 was eligible for the benefit,
- Any EPF member possessing Universal Account Number (UAN) drawing monthly wage of less than Rs. 15000/- who made exit from employment during Covid pandemic from 01 March 2020 to 30 September 2020 and did not join employment in any EPF covered establishment up to 30 Sept 2020 was also eligible to avail benefit,
- EPFO credited the contribution in Aadhaar seeded account of members in electronic manner,
- The EPFO developed a software for the scheme and also developed a procedure which is transparent and accountable at their end.
- EPFO worked out modality to ensure that there was no overlapping of benefits provided under ABRY with any other scheme implemented by EPFO.
Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY) - The Replacement
Since ABRY has been closed, the government has launched Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY) as its replacement. PMVBRY came into effect on 1 August 2025 and is designed to promote formal employment and incentivize job creation. With a total outlay of ₹99,446 crore, PMVBRY aims to facilitate the creation of more than 3.5 crore jobs over a two-year period. The benefits of the scheme are applicable to jobs created between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2027.
Under Part A of PMVBRY, first-time employees registered with EPFO and earning wages up to Rs. 1 lakh per month are eligible for an incentive equivalent to one month's wage, up to ₹15,000, paid in two installments. Under Part B, employers generating additional employment are eligible for incentives of up to ₹3,000 per month per additional employee for a period of two years, with manufacturing sector employers eligible for an additional two years. Since August 2025, more than 70 lakh first-time employees have been brought into the formal workforce under PMVBRY.
For complete details on the replacement scheme, check the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana article. The official PMVBRY portal is available at https://pmvbry.labour.gov.in/ and https://pmvbry.epfindia.gov.in/.
More Details can be checked at https://labour.gov.in/aatmanirbhar-bharat-rojgar-yojana-abry