Unemployment rate -2

 

Employment schemes fail to ease rural poverty

One of the primary causes of poverty is the continuous expanding army of unemployed in our country. The job seeker is increasing in number at a higher rate than the expansion in employment opportunities.   Structural unemployment arises when the qualification of a person is not sufficient to meet his job responsibilities. It arises due to long term change in the pattern of demand that changes the basic structure of the economy. The person is not able to learn new technologies used in the new expanding economic sectors and they thus may be rendered permanently unemployed. For instance, when computers were introduced, many workers were dislodged because of a mismatch between the existing skills of the workers and the requirement of the job. Although jobs were available, there was a demand for a new kind of skill and qualification. So, persons  with old skills did not get employment in the changed economic regime, and remain  unemployed.  

Causes of Unemployment

The major causes of unemployment in India are as mentioned below:

• Population explosion.
• Human Resource management with on job training.
• Lack of vocational skills or low educational levels of the working population.
• Labour-intensive sectors suffering from the slowdown in private investment particularly after demonetisation
• The low productivity in the agriculture sector plus the lack of alternative opportunities for agricultural workers that makes transition among the three sectors difficult.
• Legal complexities, Inadequate state support, low infrastructural, financial and market linkages to small businesses making such enterprises unviable with cost and compliance overruns.
• Inadequate growth of infrastructure and low investments in the manufacturing sector, hence restricting the employment potential of the secondary sector.
• The huge workforce of the country is associated with the informal sector because of a lack of required education or skills, and this data is not captured in employment statistics.
• The main cause of structural unemployment is the education provided in schools and colleges are not as per the current requirements of the industries. 
• Regressive social norms that deter women from taking/continuing employment.

Adverse effect of Unemployment

1. The unemployment in any nation have the following effects on the economy:
2. The problem of unemployment gives rise to the problem of poverty.
3. The government suffers extra borrowing burden because unemployment causes a decrease in the production and less consumption of goods and services by the people.
4. Unemployed persons can easily be enticed by antisocial elements. This makes them lose faith in the democratic values of the country.
5. People unemployed for a long time may indulge in illegal and wrong activities for earning money which increases crime in the country.
6. Unemployment affects the economy of the country as the workforce that could have been gainfully employed to generate resources actually gets dependent on the remaining working population.
7. Defects in Education System: Jobs in the capitalist world have become highly specialised but India’s education system does not provide the right training and specialisation needed for these jobs.

Government Initiative To Control Unemployment

Several policies have been initiated by the government to reduce the unemployment problem in the economy. The policies to reduce unemployment are highlighted below:

• In 1979 the government launched TRYSEM – Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment The objective of this scheme was to help unemployed youth of rural areas aged between 18 and 35 years to acquire skills for self-employment. The priority under this scheme was given to women and youth belonging to SC/ST category.
• The Government launched the IRDP – Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) in the year 1980 to create full employment opportunities in rural areas.
• A new initiative was tried namely RSETI/RUDSETI in 1982 jointly by Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Educational Trust, Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank. The aim of RUDSETI, the acronym of Rural Development And Self Employment Training Institute was to mitigate the unemployment problem among the youth. Rural Self Employment Training Institutes/ RSETIs are now managed by Banks with active cooperation from the state and central Government.
• The Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) was started in April 1989 by merging the two existing wage employment programme i.e. RLEGP – Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme and NREP – National Rural Employment Programme on an 80:20 cost-sharing basis between the state and centre.
• MNREGA – Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act launched in 2005 providing the right to work to people. An employment scheme of MGNREGA aimed to provide social security by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days paid work per year to all the families whose adult members opt for unskilled labour-intensive work. For details on MNREGA check the link provided. 
• PMKVY – Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana was launched in 2015. The objective of PMKVY was to enable the youth of the country to take up industry-relevant skill training in order to acquire a secured better livelihood. For further details on Pradhan Mantri Kushal Vikas Yojana check the given link. 
• The government launched the Start-Up India Scheme in 2016. The aim of Startup India programmes was to develop an ecosystem that nurtures and promotes entrepreneurship across the nation. Check detailed information on Startup India Scheme in the given link. 
• Stand Up India Scheme also launched in 2016 aimed to facilitate bank loans to women and SC/ST borrowers between Rs 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore for setting up a greenfield enterprise. Details on Stand-Up India is given in the linked page.
• National Skill Development Mission was set up in November 2014 to drive the ‘Skill India’ agenda in a ‘Mission Mode’ in order to converge the existing skill training initiatives and combine scale and quality of skilling efforts, with speed. Check the National Skill Development Mission in detail. 

Most countries saw joblessness rise in 2020. But India's rate exceeded most emerging economies like Bangladesh (5.3%), Mexico (4.7%) and Vietnam (2.3%), notes Prof Bansi.

Even salaried jobs have shrunk, according to the CMIE. Part of this could be because firms have used the pandemic to trim their workforce and reduce costs. Studies by Azim Premji University show young workers - 15 to 23 years old - were hardest hit during the 2020 lockdown.

The pandemic is only partly responsible for the sharp decline in jobs, economists say.  

"What has happened in India reflects the fact that policy is being made with little attention to the wellbeing of workers and small businesses, as we saw during the lockdown in 2020,"  For one, these dismal headline numbers don't tell us the whole story about persistent joblessness in India.  The number of active job seekers in the working age population has fallen. The proportion of women, aged 15 and older, in the workforce is among the lowest in the world.

Joblessness rose across urban and rural India in the week ended 25 July 2022, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed, reversing the gains made just a week earlier.  While the national joblessness rate climbed to 7.14% from the previous week’s 5.98%, rural unemployment took a sharp upward turn to 6.75% from 5.1%. In urban India, where economic activity has largely opened up, unemployment climbed marginally to 8.01% from 7.94%, staying above both national and rural figures.  To be sure, the unemployment scenario in July is relatively better than the previous three months when India battled the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Since the beginning of July, unemployment in urban India has stayed below 9%, and at the national level, it has remained under 8%.

During the second wave in April and May, India lost around 23 million jobs across formal and informal sectors as states and Union territories imposed strict lockdowns. But as the situation improved, June saw some rebound in work, especially in the informal space, and CMIE data had showed earlier this month that June saw the return of almost eight million jobs.

=================

• a)   Demonetisation — It failed, but worse is the BJP’s inability to accept that it failed. All propaganda of it cutting terror funding, reducing black cash, eliminating corruption is just absurd. It also killed businesses.

•  

• b)   GST Implementation — The tax regime was implemented in a hurry and harmed business. Complicated structure, multiple rates on different items, complex filing… Hopefully it’ll stabilise with time, but it did cause harm. The BJP’s failure to acknowledge as much  is extremely arrogant.

•  

• c)   Misuse of CBI and ED — They are being used for political purposes as far as I can see, but even if they aren’t, the fear that these institutions will be unleashed on people if they speak up against anything Modi/Shah-related is real. This is enough to kill dissent, an integral component of democracy.

•  

• d)   Electoral bonds — It basically legalises corruption and allows corporates & foreign powers to just buy our political parties. The bonds are anonymous so if a corporate says ‘I’ll give you an electoral bond of Rs 1,000 crore if you pass this specific policy, there will be no prosecution’, there just is no way to establish quid pro quo with an anonymous instrument. This also explains how corruption is reduced at the ministerial level — it isn’t per file/order, it is now like the US,  at the policy level.

•  

• e)   Planning Commission reports —This used to be a major source for data. They audited government schemes and stated how things are going. With that gone, there just is no choice but to believe whatever data the government gives you (CAG audits come out after a long time!). NITI Aayog doesn’t have this mandate and is basically a thinktank and PR agency. Plan/non-Plan distinction could have been removed without removing this

•  

•  

• f)     Failure to investigate Kalikho Pul’s suicide note, Judge Loya’s death, Sohrabuddin murder, and the defence of an MLA accused of rape whose relative is accused of killing the girl’s father, with the FIR in the case not registered for over a year..!

•  

• g)   Planning Commission reports —This used to be a major source for data. They audited government schemes and stated how things are going. With that gone, there just is no choice but to believe whatever data the government gives you (CAG audits come out after a long time!). NITI Aayog doesn’t have this mandate and is basically a thinktank and PR agency. Plan/non-Plan distinction could have been removed without removing this

•  

• h)   The messed up foreign policy with pure grandstanding — China has a port in Sri Lanka, huge interests in Bangladesh and Pakistan  (we’re surrounded); the failure in Maldives (Indian workers not getting visas anymore because of India’s foreign policy debacle) while Modi ji goes out to foreign countries and keeps saying Indians had no respect in the world before 2014 and now they’re supremely respected (This is nonsense. Indian respect in foreign countries was a direct result of our growing economy and IT sector, it hasn’t improved an ounce because of Modi. It might, however, have declined due to beef-driven lynchings, threats to journalists etc.)

•  

• i)     Demonetisation — it failed, but worse is BJP’s inability to accept that it failed. All propaganda of it cutting terror funding, reducing cash, eliminating corruption is just absurd. It also killed off businesses.

•  

• j)     Failure of schemes and failure to acknowledge/course correct — Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, Make In India, Skill Development, Fasal Bima (look at reimbursements — the government is lining the pockets of insurance companies). Failure to acknowledge unemployment and farmers crisis — calling every real issue an opposition stunt.

•  

• k)   The high prices of Petrol and Diesel — Modi ji and all BJP ministers + supporters criticized Congress for it heavily and now all of them justify the high prices even though crude is cheaper than it was then! Just unacceptable.

•  

• l)     Failure to engage with the most important basic issues — Education and Healthcare. There is just nothing on education which is the nation’s biggest failure. Quality of government schools has deteriorated over the decades (ASER reports) and no action. They did nothing on Healthcare for 4 years, then Ayushman Bharat was announced — that scheme scares me more than nothing being done. Insurance schemes have a terrible track record and this is going the US route, which is a terrible destination for healthcare (watch Sicko by Michael Moore)

•  

• m)  The spread and reliance on Fake News. There is some anti-BJP fake news too, but the pro-BJP and anti-opposition fake news outstrips that by miles in number and in reach. Some of it is supporters, but a lot of it comes from the party. It is often hateful and polarizing, which makes it even worse. The online news portals backed by this government are damaging society more than we know.

•  

• n)   Speak against the government and you’re anti-National and more recently, anti-Hindu. Legitimate criticism of the government is shut up with this labeling. Prove your nationalism, sing Vande Mataram everywhere (even though BJP leaders don’t know the words themselves, they’ll force you to sing it!). I’m a proud nationalist and my nationalism won’t allow me to let anyone force me to showcase it! I will sing the national anthem and national song with pride when the occasion calls for it, or when I feel like it, but I won’t let anyone force me to sing it based on their whims!

•  

• o)   Running news channels that are owned by BJP leaders who’s sole job is to debate Hindu-Muslim, National-Antinational, India-Pakistan and derail the public discourse from issues and logic into polarising emotions. You all know exactly which ones, and you all even know the debaters who’re being rewarded for spewing the vilest propaganda.

•  

• p)   The polarisation — the message of development is gone. BJP’s strategy for the next election is polarisation and inciting pseudo nationalism. Modi ji has basically said it himself in speeches — Jinnah; Nehru; Congress leaders didn’t meet Bhagat Singh in jail (fake news from the PM himself!); INC leaders met leaders in Pakistan to defeat Modi in Gujarat; Yogi ji’s speech on how Maharana Pratap was greater than Akbar; JNU students are anti-national they’ll #TukdeTukdeChurChur India — this is all propaganda constructed for a very specific purpose — polarise and win elections — it isn’t the stuff I want to be hearing from my leaders and I refuse to follow anyone who is willing to let the nation burn in riots for political gain.

•  

• q)   Remember Unnao? Remember Hathras? Remember Delhi Cantt.? Remember Lakhimpur Kheri? Remember all those cries for dignity?

• ===

 

r)