By Ashutosh Pandey
India is a player in the world economy today. The country has done well in the last ten years. It has grown economically. A lot of people are using digital technology. The infrastructure is also getting better and more people are starting their businesses. But there is a problem. Many young people do not have jobs. This is an issue for the country because a large part of the population is young.
The Indian economy is growing fast. It is expected to grow between 6 and 7 percent, which’s more than many developed countries. This means India is doing well economically. However this growth is not creating jobs. Economists are talking about ” growth,” which means the economy is growing but not many new jobs are being created.
To understand the problem of unemployment in India we need to look at some numbers. The unemployment rate in the country is around 4.8 to 5 percent, which does not seem high.. When we look at young people between 15 and 29 years old the unemployment rate is much higher between 14 and 17 percent. This means many young people who have studied and graduated are not able to find jobs.
One of the reasons for this is that many graduates do not have the skills that companies are looking for. There are colleges and universities in India and every year millions of students graduate.. The number of jobs available is not increasing at the same rate. Many studies have shown that there is a gap between what companies need and what colleges are teaching. The government is trying to address this issue by providing skill training to people.
Agriculture is also a part of the Indian economy. Nearly half of the working population is engaged in agriculture. This sector only contributes about 15 percent to the countrys GDP. This means many people are working in agriculture. They are not being very productive. This is known as disguised unemployment. To create jobs India needs to focus on growing its manufacturing and service sectors.
Another issue is that not many women are working in India. According to the World Bank about 30 to 32 percent of women are part of the workforce, which is lower than the global average. This is because of norms family responsibilities and lack of safe workplaces. If more women were able to work it would help create jobs and grow the economy.
Technology is also changing the way people work. Artificial intelligence, automation and digital technologies are creating jobs but they are also making some traditional jobs obsolete. This means workers need to have skills to be able to work in this new economy. The government is trying to help by providing training in areas like skills and data analytics.
The government has started initiatives to create more jobs and help young people develop skills. The Skill India Mission is providing training to people and the Make in India program is trying to grow the manufacturing sector. The Startup India initiative is also helping young people start their businesses. According to the government over one lakh startups have been. They have created many jobs.
Other programs like the Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme and the promotion of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector are also expected to help create jobs. The MSME sector is very important for the economy because it provides jobs to many people. The government is trying to help this sector by providing assistance, training and technological support.
However many experts believe that the government alone cannot solve the problem of unemployment. There needs to be a connection between the education system, industry and policymakers. Colleges and universities need to teach skills that’re relevant to the industry and there needs to be more development, in rural areas.
For India this is a time but it is also an opportunity. The country has a young population, which can be a big advantage if they are provided with the right education, skills and jobs. If this happens it can help drive growth and development.. If not it can create social and economic problems.
Therefore creating jobs needs to be a part of Indias development strategy. This can be done by providing skill-based education growing the manufacturing sector getting more women to work and encouraging entrepreneurship. Economic growth will only be meaningful if it benefits all sections of society and if young people are able to get jobs.
(The writer is a student, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Jammu)
