Origin of National Employment Service

INTRODUCTION

The Employment Service came into existence in India under the stress of post-war demobilization. "Towards the end of the Second World War, the need for a machinery which could handle orderly reabsorption of civil life, of a large number of service personnel and war workers who were about to be released was keenly felt. Having regard to the complexity of the problem and in order to ensure uniformity of the problem and in order to ensure uniformity in policies and effective co-ordination of efforts it was considered necessary that the proposed machinery be directed and controlled by the Central Government. In accordance with a scheme that was agreed upon by the Central and State Governments, the Directorate General of Resettlement and Employment (D.G.R.&E.) was set-up in July, 1945 and Employment Exchanges were gradually opened in several parts of the country.

Till the end of 1946, Employment Service facilities were restricted to demobilized service personnel and discharged war workers. In 1947, consequent upon the partition of the country, the Employment Exchanges were called upon to deal with the resettlement of a large number of persons who were displaced as result of partition. In response to popular demands, the scope of the service was gradually extended and by early 1948, Employment Exchanges were thrown open to all categories of applicants.

A comprehensive law, namely, "The Persons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, has been enacted as Act No.1 of 1996. This law was an important landmark to ensure equal opportunities for Persons With Disabilities and their full participation in the nation building.

Recently the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has enacted the “Right of Person with Disabilities Act”, 2016, repealing the previously mentioned existing act of 1995.  The new act came into force with effect from 27th December 2016.  The Act aims to give equal opportunity to the disabled person in all aspects including employment.