Nothing concerns a common man more than the avenues of employment in any system. Sadly this is exactly where failures begin to have a telling effect for taking India to the 'developed' country bracket. The circle is almost vicious.
• Thrust areas identification needed for employment • Employment Guarantee Schemes should be extended to all sectors for creating national assets • Changes in labour laws especially in Contract Labour Act and Industrial Disputes Act • Focus on creating an enabling environment where the industry can create employment
If a man is without work, he doesn't have enough to spend and without his expenditure, there is lesser demand for industrial or agricultural products. With the lesser demand, the industry or the agriculture sector have lesser avenues to expand more, and thus, they end up employing lesser people! The planning of initial years which relied on rapid industrial development and control of population has more or less failed as the rate of employment was much less in comparison to the GDP growth. With the direct attack on poverty as the renewed strategy, emphasis has shifted to provide wage employment including self-employment and entrepreneurship.
The 60th round survey results of the NSSO on the unemployment situation has sent conflicting signals. The sample size not being big, experts have commented that the actual figures can be much higher than the one estimated by it. However, based on the current daily status in 2004, it estimates up to 9% males in rural areas and 8.1% males in urban areas, being unemployed. The corresponding statistics for females were 9.3% in rural areas while 11.7% in urban areas! Far from the employment, it has been unemployment that has kept pace with the GDP growth!
The key to 'inclusive growth' then relates to generating employment for the majority of Indians.