India Must Create Jobs for a Better Future

Source: The post India Must Create Jobs for a Better Future has been created, based on the article “The kind of jobs needed for the ‘Viksit Bharat’ goal” published in “The Hindu” on 4th February 2025

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper3- Economy-growth, development and employment.

Context: The article discusses three types of jobs India must create for long-term growth: climate-resilient jobs to tackle climate change, AI-resilient jobs to adapt to automation, and aspiration-centric jobs to meet youth aspirations and boost rural employment.

For detailed information on Contrasting trends in job growth and unemployment read this article here

How Can India Create Climate-Resilient Jobs?

1. Climate Impact: India lost $159 billion in 2021 due to climate change and may face $1 trillion adaptation costs by 2030 (RBI).
2. India can create climate-resilient jobs by focusing on sustainable development and leveraging technology to address environmental challenges. Here’s how:

• E-Rickshaws in Villages: Deploy three to four state-subsidized e-rickshaws in each of India’s 600,000 villages, creating approximately two million jobs, particularly for women drivers, enhancing mobility and reducing carbon emissions.
• Biogas Plants: Promote private investments in compressed biogas plants to meet the ambitious target of setting up 5,000 plants by FY23-24; currently, only 82 have been established.
• Renewable Energy Jobs: Accelerate the goal of achieving 500GW of non-fossil energy capacity, focusing on decentralized and rooftop solar installations, which are seven times more labor-intensive than traditional energy sources, potentially creating over one million jobs (as noted by CEEW).

Why Should India Focus on AI-Resilient Jobs?

1. High Automation Potential: AI has the potential to automate 50% of jobs in India within the next decade, as per McKinsey.
2. Impact on IT and Business Services: IT and business services, which are vital for India’s exports, comprising over 70% of service exports, face challenges from automation.
3. Examples of AI Impact: Software like metaGPT and AI systems writing 25% of Google’s code show the increasing capabilities of AI, leading to layoffs.
4. Need for Human-Centric Jobs: Jobs emphasizing human creativity and interaction, such as in education and healthcare, are less likely to be replaced by AI.
5. Government Support: Increased budgeting for education and health could address shortages and leverage India’s human resources effectively.

For detailed information on Preparing India’s Workforce for Technological Job Changes read this article here

How Can India Create Jobs That Match Youth Aspirations?

1. Addressing Educational Gaps: Rural youth face low confidence due to poor foundational education. Improving education, especially in English and digital skills, is essential.
2. Creating Aspirational Jobs: Develop jobs that are attractive and match the dynamic aspirations of youth influenced by digital media and their socio-economic backgrounds.
3. Infrastructure Development: Build 70,000 integrated pack-houses, addressing a 95% infrastructure gap, which will create over two million jobs.
4. Promoting Local Manufacturing: Boost productivity in high import/export-share items and support local manufacturing of agri-inputs like soybean and sunflower, vital for rural processing industries.
5. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): Facilitate large-scale business opportunities through PPPs, especially in rural areas, to provide sustainable employment and reduce dependency on government jobs.

What Should the Government Do?

1. Tax relief may temporarily boost urban demand, but long-term reforms are needed.
2. The government should focus on climate-resilient, AI-resilient, and aspiration-driven jobs.
3. These efforts will help achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat (Developed India).

Question for practice:

Examine how India can create climate-resilient, AI-resilient, and aspiration-driven jobs to ensure long-term economic growth and sustainable employment.