UN report on India's grim employment scenario met with response from youth minister
PTC News Desk: In a recent development, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) released a report highlighting the grim employment scenario in India, particularly among the youth demographic. According to the report, youth constitute a staggering 83% of the unemployed workforce in the country. Furthermore, it pointed out that the proportion of educated youth among the jobless has risen significantly from 54.2 per cent to 65.7 per cent in 2022.
The report underscores a concerning trend wherein unemployment, especially among educated youth in urban areas, has become increasingly concentrated. However, the Indian government has contested these findings, presenting divergent data from domestic agencies.
Anurag Thakur, the Minister of Youth Affairs, refuted the ILO report's claims during his address at the NDTV Yuva Conclave. He highlighted statistics such as the 64 million registrations on the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which he likened to the population of entire countries like Australia and New Zealand. Thakur also pointed to the 34 crore Mudra loans disbursed, which, according to him, have transformed recipients from job seekers to job creators.
Moreover, Thakur criticized the prevalent reliance on international rating agencies, advocating for greater trust in domestically sourced data. He emphasized the need to break free from a "slave mentality" of dependence on foreign ratings and instead rely on indigenous organizations for accurate assessments of India's employment landscape.
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Highlighting the government's efforts under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership since 2014, Thakur pointed out policies aimed at fostering entrepreneurship as a means of employment generation. He cited instances of individuals, including those educated at prestigious universities and previously employed abroad, returning to India to establish startups.
The ILO report outlined key policy areas for India to address, suggesting that focusing on job creation, improving the quality of employment, tackling labor market inequalities, enhancing skills and active labor market policies, and addressing knowledge gaps in labor market dynamics and youth employment could add 70-80 lakh youths to the labor force in the next decade.
As the debate over India's employment situation continues, it underscores the complexity of the issue and the importance of comprehensive policy measures to address the challenges faced by the country's workforce, particularly its youth.
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(Inputs from agencies)
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