Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana: Part A - Support for First-Time Employees

What is PM-VBRY Part A?

The Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY) is an employment-linked incentive scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, operated through the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). It was announced in the 2024-25 Union Budget as the "Employment Linked Incentive" scheme, part of the Prime Minister's Package for Employment and Skilling, and later named the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana. It came into effect on 1 August 2025, with a total outlay of Rs 99,446 crore.

The scheme has two parts. Part A supports first-time employees, and Part B supports employers who create additional jobs. This guide covers Part A; Support for First-Time Employees.

Under Part A, a first-time EPFO member receives one full month's EPF wage, capped at Rs 15,000. The amount is not paid in one go: it is released in two instalments, the first after the employee completes 6 months of continuous service and the second after 12 months of continuous service, once the employee has completed the prescribed financial literacy programme. The maximum benefit under Part A is therefore Rs 15,000 per eligible employee.

The core aim is to bring young, first-time workers into the formal, social-security net. By tying the incentive to EPFO membership and continuous service, the scheme encourages both formalisation of the workforce and retention in the first year of a job. On 19 June 2026, the Prime Minister disbursed around Rs 2,400 crore under PM-VBRY, an indication of the scale at which the scheme is now running.

Key features of PM-VBRY Part A

• A scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, operated through EPFO.
• One month's EPF wage, capped at Rs 15,000, for first-time employees.
• Paid in two instalments, after 6 months and after 12 months of service.
• Covers employees earning up to Rs 1 lakh a month who join between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2027.
• Delivered through EPFO by Direct Benefit Transfer; no separate application form for the employee.

Who is eligible for PM-VBRY Part A?

You can benefit if:

• You are a first-time EPFO member, you were not a member of EPFO or an exempted provident fund trust before 1 August 2025.
• You join an eligible establishment between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2027.
• You earn a gross monthly wage of up to Rs 1 lakh at the time of joining.
• You have an Aadhaar-authenticated UAN (Universal Account Number) generated through Face Authentication on the UMANG app.
• You complete at least 6 months of continuous service to become eligible for the first instalment.

You are not eligible if:

• You were already an EPFO member or a member of an exempted provident fund trust before 1 August 2025. You are then not a first-time employee.
• Your gross monthly wage exceeds Rs 1 lakh at the time of joining.
• You join outside the window of 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2027.

Because the benefit is tied to EPFO membership and continuous service, an employee who leaves before completing 6 months does not qualify for the first instalment, and one who does not complete 12 months (and the financial literacy programme) does not receive the second instalment.

How much does Part A pay, and when?

Part A pays one full month's EPF wage, capped at Rs 15,000, in two instalments:

• First instalment; payable after the employee completes 6 months of continuous service.
• Second instalment — payable after the employee completes 12 months of continuous employment, and only after the employee has completed the prescribed financial literacy programme.

The remaining eligible amount is released after the scheme conditions are met. The benefit is a one-time support for the first-time employee, and the entitlement runs for 2 years from the employee's date of registration. Payments are made by Direct Benefit Transfer into the employee's Aadhaar-seeded bank account.

What documents and prerequisites are required?

How to apply for PM-VBRY Part A

There is no separate application form for the employee under Part A. The benefit is delivered through EPFO on the basis of your employment and EPF contributions. The practical steps to make sure you receive it are:

1. Join an eligible establishment covered under the EPF & MP Act, 1952, between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2027, with a gross monthly wage of up to Rs 1 lakh.
2. Get enrolled with EPFO through your employer, so that EPF contributions begin and your Universal Account Number (UAN) is generated.
3. Complete Aadhaar authentication of your UAN using Face Authentication on the UMANG app, and make sure your bank account is Aadhaar-seeded for DBT.
4. Complete 6 months of continuous service to become eligible for the first instalment, which is credited automatically by EPFO.
5. Complete the prescribed financial literacy programme and finish 12 months of continuous service to receive the second instalment.

You can track scheme details and updates on the official portals at pmvbry.labour.gov.in and pmvbry.epfindia.gov.in.

How Part A fits with Part B

PM-VBRY is designed to work from both sides of the job. Part A rewards the first-time employee for entering and staying in formal employment, while Part B rewards the employer for creating net-new, additional jobs: up to Rs 3,000 per month per additional employee, based on wage slabs (Rs 1,000 for gross wage up to Rs 10,000, Rs 2,000 for Rs 10,001-20,000, and Rs 3,000 for Rs 20,001-1,00,000). For manufacturing, the employer benefit is extended over a longer period. An employee does not need to do anything to trigger Part B; it is claimed by the employer through EPFO.

Help and where to check details

Because PM-VBRY is delivered through EPFO, the first point of contact for an employee is their employer's HR or PF desk and the local EPFO office, which handle UAN generation, Aadhaar authentication and the crediting of instalments. The official scheme portals; pmvbry.labour.gov.in and pmvbry.epfindia.gov.in; carry the detailed guidelines, eligibility criteria and implementation process for both employees and employers. Since the benefit is paid automatically through EPFO, no agent or middleman is needed and no fee should ever be paid to "register" for the scheme.

How to check your PM-VBRY Part A payment status

There is no separate PM-VBRY dashboard where an employee logs in with a scheme ID, because the benefit rides on your existing EPF account rather than a standalone application. To check where your instalment stands, use these channels:

1. EPFO member portal or UMANG app. Log in with your UAN and password at the EPFO Member e-Sewa portal, or through the UMANG app, and check your Passbook. PM-VBRY credits are reflected as a distinct entry once EPFO processes them, alongside your regular EPF contributions.
2. Bank account statement. Since instalments are paid by Direct Benefit Transfer to your Aadhaar-seeded account, a bank statement or passbook update is often the first sign a payment has gone through, even before it shows clearly on the EPFO portal.
3. UAN status check via SMS or missed call. If your UAN is registered with EPFO and linked to your mobile number, you can use the standard EPFO missed-call or SMS service to confirm your UAN is active and Aadhaar-seeded, which is a precondition for receiving any instalment.
4. Employer's HR or PF desk. Your employer's payroll or PF section files the contribution data that EPFO uses to determine your 6-month and 12-month milestones. If an instalment is delayed, they can confirm whether your continuous-service record and financial literacy programme completion have been correctly reported to EPFO.
5. EPFO grievance portal (EPFiGMS). If an instalment due after 6 or 12 months has not arrived despite meeting the conditions, you can raise a grievance on the EPFO's online grievance management system, quoting your UAN, so a regional EPFO office can investigate the specific payment.

Because both scheme portals (pmvbry.labour.gov.in and pmvbry.epfindia.gov.in) are informational rather than transactional, they will not show an individual applicant's payment status. Actual status always traces back to your UAN record with EPFO.

Common reasons a PM-VBRY Part A instalment is delayed or denied

• UAN not Aadhaar-authenticated through Face Authentication. If the UAN was generated but never went through Face Authentication on UMANG, EPFO cannot validate first-time-employee status, and no instalment is released. Fix: complete Face Authentication on the UMANG app as soon as the UAN is issued, rather than waiting until the 6-month mark.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded. Since payment is by Direct Benefit Transfer, an account that is not linked to Aadhaar (or where the linkage has lapsed, for example after a bank account change) will cause the transfer to fail even if eligibility is otherwise confirmed. Fix: verify Aadhaar seeding directly with your bank and re-confirm it with EPFO if you have changed accounts.
• Break in continuous service before 6 or 12 months. A gap in EPF contributions, such as a period of unemployment or a lapse in employer contributions, resets the continuous-service clock EPFO uses to determine instalment eligibility. Fix: track your EPF contribution history in the passbook regularly, and flag any missing month to your employer immediately rather than after the fact.
• Not actually a first-time EPFO member. Employees who had any prior EPFO membership or exempted provident fund trust membership before 1 August 2025, even a short or inactive one from an earlier job, do not qualify as first-time employees. Fix: check your EPF history before assuming eligibility; a previous UAN, even if unused, generally disqualifies you.
• Wage exceeded Rs 1 lakh at the time of joining. If the gross monthly wage recorded at joining is above the Rs 1 lakh ceiling, the entire record is excluded from Part A, regardless of later wage changes. Fix: confirm with HR that your joining wage was correctly recorded within the ceiling.
• Financial literacy programme not completed. The second instalment is specifically conditioned on completing the prescribed financial literacy programme; skipping or not finishing it holds back payment even after 12 months of service. Fix: ask your employer or the EPFO-designated channel for the financial literacy programme schedule and complete it well before the 12-month mark.
• Employer has not correctly reported joining date or establishment coverage. Since the employee files no separate form, any error in how the employer reports the date of joining, wage, or establishment coverage to EPFO can misclassify the record. Fix: cross-check your recorded date of joining and wage in the EPFO passbook against your actual offer letter, and raise discrepancies with HR early.