Solution

Punjab is the leading beneficiary among states under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), a scheme initiated by the Centre during the pandemic to give a fillip to formal employment.According to data, one in every five active Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) subscribers in the state joined the workforce. They were followed by beneficiaries in Himachal Pradesh (19.1 per cent), Rajasthan (18.9 per cent), Gujarat (15.4 per cent), and Madhya Pradesh (14.2 per cent). However, Maharashtra (978,308), Tamil Nadu (817,315), Gujarat (643,573), and Karnataka (486,278) topped the list in terms of total number of beneficiaries under the scheme. In terms of states that benefited least from the scheme, Bihar was the number one, with only 2.4 per cent of active employees covered. It was followed by Assam (5.5 per cent), Delhi (5.7 per cent) and Karnataka (6.5 per cent).