Government plans to boost rural employment

Government plans to boost rural employment

Context:

• After an array of suicidal cases of the farmers in India, the Rural Development Ministry is in the midst of examining proposals that promises to leapfrog job creation for the rural youth.

What are the causes of rural unemployment in India?

• According to the report, Rural Agricultural Commission, Indian Agriculturalists are unemployed for about 6 months in a year. Some of the reasons are as follows:
• In India the population is excessively increasing: At this rate of increase in population, no country can guarantee full employment to its hands.
• The employment planning of the government is not adequate: In comparison to population growth, employment opportunities did not increase.

Agricultural drawbacks:

• India has a limited area of agricultural land: Attempt is being made to break the barren land and bring greater area under the orbit of the agriculture.
• Agriculture in India is a seasonal affair: There is a season for sowing and harvesting. After that the farmers have no job.
• Agricultural people are not educated: Due to lack of education, they are not able to utilise their energy in proper manner.
• Agricultural holdings are small: the lands are scattered and fragmented. Because of these drawbacks, the agricultural product is not at all sufficient for the people who depend who depend on it.
• Rural India depend directly on various cottage industries for their livelihood: But, now-a-days, these are adversely affected by the industrialisation process.
• The present woes of agrarian distress is a result of having no vision for agriculture sector which is mostly dependent on farming and its failure is affecting other sectors including the banking.

Crop failure in India: An overview:

• GM cotton, 2002, initially promising performance of GM cotton proved short-lived as crops experienced severe pest attacks.
• Production costs rose threefold due to the more expensive pesticides needed to control problem insects and widespread crop failure.
• Growing burden of credit on farming community and their inability of making repayment also is a reason of constant crop failures.
• Even though Asian countries including India have often welcomed the use of genetically modified crops to boost productivity. Yet, monopolisation of markets and destruction of alternatives have destroyed many.
• Only a third of the small and marginal farmers in the country have access to institutional credit. As a result, loan waivers may not be of significant help.

What are the government initiatives to generate rural employment in India?

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA): It is an Indian labour law and social securilty measure that aims to guarantee the right to work.
• It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana or DDU-GKY: It is Government of India youth employment scheme.
• It aims to target youth, under the age group of 15–35 years. DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), tasked with the dual objectives of adding diversity to the incomes of rural poor families and cater to the career aspirations of rural youth.
• Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): Jobs created by the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), generates employment in rural and urban areas by initiating new micro enterprises and small projects.
• Make in India Programme: The main aim of the Make in India programme is to generate employment in the manufacturing sector.
• Startup India: Under this programme, the government encouraged banks to provide finance to young entrepreneurs to start their own business ventures.

What is the way forward?

• More cottage industries and other industries pertaining to agriculture need set up in the village.
• Demand for the industrial manufacturing sector has to come from rural India which can be generated by increasing the purchasing power of rural population where farming remains the main activity of employment.
• Unless the farming infrastructure receives significant boost, farmers in India will stop finding agriculture as a viable source of income.