On August 15, 2025, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's newly announced job scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY), calling it "Rs 1 Lakh Crore Rhetoric – Season 2". Gandhi's remarks came shortly after Modi's Independence Day speech, where he unveiled the ₹1 lakh crore initiative aimed at boosting employment opportunities for India's youth.
Gandhi took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to express his skepticism, dismissing the scheme as a mere continuation of past unfulfilled promises. He referred to the government's earlier pledge from 2024 of creating one crore internships worth ₹1 lakh crore, which he claims, failed to materialize. Gandhi pointed to data presented in Parliament, indicating a significant discrepancy between the promised internships and the actual number offered and taken up. According to the data, while 10.77 lakh applications were received for the Prime Minister's Internship Scheme (PMIS), only 1.53 lakh offers were made, and a mere 9,453 interns joined. Gandhi alleged that the government, during a parliamentary session, admitted to offering fewer than 10,000 internships, which is a 90% shortfall compared to the initial promise.
The PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY), launched on August 1, 2025, intends to provide financial incentives to both first-time employees and employers in the private sector. The scheme, with a budget of ₹99,446 crore, aims to create 3.5 crore jobs in two years, with approximately 1.92 crore opportunities for individuals entering the job market for the first time. Under the scheme, first-time employees with monthly earnings up to ₹1 lakh will receive ₹15,000 in two installments. Companies hiring additional employees are eligible for up to ₹3,000 per month for each new hire for two years, with manufacturing firms receiving extended benefits up to four years.
Gandhi argued that the government has not defined the "Employment Linked Incentive" (ELI) scheme announced a year prior and has returned the ₹10,000 crores allocated to it. He questioned the government's seriousness about tackling unemployment and asked for a concrete plan to generate the crores of jobs India needs. He has also criticized the government's approach to job creation, asserting that it cannot be achieved by prioritizing large corporations and disregarding India's indigenous skills and micro-enterprises. Instead, he has advocated for large-scale investments in MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), fair markets, and support for local production networks.
In response to Gandhi's criticism of the earlier ELI scheme, the BJP's Amit Malviya stated that the Modi government has delivered a higher rate of employment across various sectors. He said that during the Congress-led UPA government (2004-2014), only 2.9 crore jobs were created, while the Modi government (2014-2024) created 17.19 crore jobs. Malviya also defended the ELI program, highlighting the PM Internship Scheme for FY 2024-25, which offered 1.25 lakh internships with stipends, insurance, and travel support.
Despite the government's aims, Gandhi remains unconvinced, stating that PM Modi has no new ideas and that the youth will only receive rhetoric instead of jobs. He believes the focus should shift from enriching a few to ensuring equal access to employment for young people from marginalized communities.
