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."
"A focus on labour-intensive industries—such as footwear, toys, tourism, and the service sector, along with the push for medical tourism, will not only create jobs but especially benefit women, as they are significantly involved in the care economy. Ultimately, these measures aim to return money to the people, and a focus on labour-intensive sectors is key to this," Kidwai said.
To further focus on creating employment opportunities, initiatives in the toy sector were also proposed by Sitharaman. Under the National Action Plan for Toys, the government proposes to establish India as a global toy manufacturing hub. The initiative seeks to establish manufacturing clusters, enhance skill development, and promote innovation in toy manufacturing. The scheme will allow the manufacturing of sustainable, high-quality toys and would propel India’s Make in India initiative while also contributing to export growth in the sector.
Sitharaman also recognised tourism as a major sector for job-led growth. The government plans to initiate active skill development programs, with a view to improvement in hospitality management, provide MUDRA loans for homestays and also offer a few more steps for local tourism and better connectivity with tourist destinations. The Centre also plans to push for an efficient visa system and a performance-linked incentive to the states, assuring an optimal tourism experience for both domestic and foreign travellers.
According to challenged markets and working with the state governments, the development of at least 50 major tourist destinations is expected to take place, which will generate employment opportunities in the hospitality and travel sectors.
Harsh Vardhan Agarwal, President of FICCI, told ETV Bharat, "The government recognises that employment is a major concern, which is why it has emphasised industries like tourism, leather, footwear, and toys, sectors that are labour-intensive and will help boost employment."
