Shift Towards Employment Generation

Source-This post on Shift Towards Employment Generation has been created based on the article “Impatience with jobs: On the Budget speech” published in “The Hindu” on 31 July 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-3– Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.

Context –The 2024 Budget speech represented a major shift, focusing mainly on employment. This change shows the government’s recognition of the urgent job crisis that has been a key issue in recent political debates.

The article highlights that high youth unemployment is a serious threat to India’s long-term growth, according to rating agencies. It stresses the need to tackle this issue for sustainable economic development.

What are the announcements made in the recent budget to address the job crisis?

1) Employment package- The proposed ₹2 lakh crore package aims to assist 4.1 crore youth over five years through three employment-linked schemes: two offer subsidies to hire new workers for at least a year, and the third encourages companies to increase their hiring beyond last year’s levels.

2) Skill-job mismatch-

A) Upgrading 1,000 industrial training institutes (ITIs)

B) Collaborating with industry to design relevant courses

C) The central government will cover most of the stipend costs for an ambitious internship program targeting 1 crore youth in 500 top companies. The firms can participate voluntarily and use their mandatory CSR funds to cover the remaining expenses.

Read More- Present status of employment in India

What are the key factors contributing to the employment crisis?

a) Investor preference for capital-intensive investments

b) Outdated labor laws acting as disincentives for large-scale employment

c) Recent economic shocks impacting the informal sector include demonetization, GST implementation, and COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

d) The government’s past efforts to boost private investment have mainly been aimed at increasing production rather than creating jobs.

Way ahead-

1) Expeditious filling of vacancies in government sectors.

2) Creating conditions to boost consumption, which would encourage private sector expansion and hiring.

Question for practice

What measures were announced in the recent budget to tackle the job crisis? What are the main factors driving the employment crisis?