<p>Rejecting claims about high unemployment in India as “disinformation”, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said it would be “economic absurdity” to believe that jobs are not being created at a time when the country is witnessing high economic growth.</p>

<p>Jaitley, who could not present the interim Budget because of his indisposition, also defended the budgetary provision of Rs 6000 for each marginal farmer which has been mocked by the Opposition as a meagre amount, saying it is meant to be an “additional support” to the agriculturists.</p>

<p>In an interview to ANI here, he underlined that the Narendra Modi government had efficiently maintained the fiscal discipline as the fiscal deficit and Current Account Deficit (CAD) have been contained and inflation has been reduced drastically while GDP kept growing.</p>

<p>"Our fiscal deficit, we inherited about, 4.5-4.6 per cent, which is now down to 3.4 %, we had targeted 3.3 % but because of the last minute adjustments in the farm sector, we had to make 0.1 % compromise," he said.</p>

<p>He was asked about the ‘leaked report’ of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) which said there was unprecedented unemployment in the country, “I don’t think it is a report. It is a draft which has not been approved,” he replied.</p>

<p>Jaitley, the Finance Minister since 2014 whose charge has been temporarily given to Piyush Goyal, said it would be “economic absurdity to say that there are no jobs” when the country is witnessing high economic growth rate.“I completely refute (claims about joblessness),” he said.</p>

<p>While terming the contention as “disinformation”.He said if there was such acute joblessness as projected, there would have been agitation, which is not the case.</p>

<p>Talking about the budgetary provision of Rs 6000 each for marginal farmers, Jaitley said it is an additional support to the agriculturists.</p>

<p>Reacting to the Opposition mocking the amount as being meagre, he said they should stop shedding “crocodile tears for the farmers”.</p>

<p>Noting that the provision will involve annual outlay of Rs 75,000 crore, the senior minister said this allocation is for the first year which can increase in the future.</p>

<p>Jaitley emphasised that loan waivers are not a solution to the farmers’ woes but acknowledged that India’s farm sector still needs support.</p>

<p>Attacking the Congress, Jaitley questioned what the UPA government had done during its 10-year rule."What did the UPA do in 10 years of power- a onetime loan waiver of 70,000 crores. Only 52,ooo crores were waived.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And the CAG report was that, out of the 52,ooo crores a significant part went to the traders and businessmen and not to the farmers. &nbsp;So a political group or a party which came out with a national hoax of this kind has the audacity to say that a scheme like this at a pan-India level is too little, " he said."Please don’t shed crocodile tears today for the farmers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The opposition also has several governments, let them announce similar schemes, I am sure the other governments within their fiscal space will also consider this and therefore you can top it off. And it is not like this is the sole prerogative or the responsibility of the Centre, we are in a cooperative federalism both Centre and state must cooperate.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This is a huge amount we are doing and we are now as against a onetime loan waiver of 52,000 cr which was partly eaten by traders and businessmen. This is 75,000 cr in the first year itself, I am sure it will expand in future years," he added.</p>

<p>Asked to comment on criticism that the interim Budget presented on Friday was aimed at wooing the voters in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Jaitley said, “Budgets are a part of Parliamentary democracy, so are the elections.”Citing the previous examples of populist budgets, he said in 2009 and 2014 the then Finance Ministers of UPA governments Pranab Mukherjee and P. Chidambaram had announced stimulus packages.</p>

<p>&nbsp;"In the 2009 interim budget, Mr. Paranab Mukherjee, not even in the interim budget, but while replying to it announced a stimulus package, where he reduced the excise duty to 2 per cent across the board, well the same argument was applicable then? In 2014 Mr. Chidambaram on a number of products including engineering products and automobiles gave a duty rebate, the same argument can be taken now?" he asked.</p>

<p>He also refuted allegations of any agrarian crisis in the nation and said, " I guess by saying crisis, we are overstating it. the Indian farmer is really the producer of our food, his productivity levels have immensely improved and therefore in the last few decades we have seen shortages becoming into surpluses.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Four years ago pulses were in shortage, he is now producing in surpluses. Now he gets hit because he is producing more and the cost goes down and therefore world over, even the US is subsidizing its farmers, the EU is subsidizing there farmers ."</p>

<p>"Everywhere you maintain a balance between food prices and subsidizing the framers so that the farmer gets the incentive for producing something.</p>

<p>I think our farm sector still needs support and I am quite sure if the Centre and the states come together, with these kinds of programs, rather than mere myopic slogans, which really will not give long term sustenance to the farmers, &nbsp;it can certainly achieve a lot more," he added.</p>

<p>He saw no wrong if the middle class, which is a big chunk in India, gets some help through a budgetary exercise."The kind of fiscal space that we have created enables us to help the middle class and mind you India`s middle class is being very vastly strengthened.</p>

<p>&nbsp;I recently went through a study; Which said in 2005, &nbsp;we had 18 % middle class, in 2015 it was 29 %, in 2025 it is projected to be 44 %," he said."So within a generation, you will see a large majority of Indians graduating into the middle class.</p>

<p>&nbsp;And if the UPA inflicted a 10% inflation on them, which we brought down, obviously the taxpayer also, his real value of money has declined and therefore exempting the smaller taxpayer and mind you his ability to spend more &nbsp;means a boost to the economy.</p>

<p>&nbsp;What given by a way of direct tax benefit also comes back by a way of indirect taxes &nbsp;because the purchasing power of the India`s middle class has improved," he added. &nbsp;(ANI)&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Rejecting claims about high unemployment in India as “disinformation”, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said it would be “economic absurdity” to believe that jobs are not being created at a time when the country is witnessing high economic growth.

Rejecting claims about high unemployment in India as “disinformation”, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said it would be “economic absurdity” to believe that jobs are not being created at a time when the country is witnessing high economic growth. Jaitley, who could not present the interim Budget because of his indisposition, also defended the budgetary provision of Rs 6000 for each marginal farmer which has been mocked by the Opposition as a meagre amount, saying it is meant to be an “additional support” to the agriculturists. In an interview to ANI here, he underlined that the Narendra Modi government had efficiently maintained the fiscal discipline as the fiscal deficit and Current Account Deficit (CAD) have been contained and inflation has been reduced drastically while GDP kept growing. "Our fiscal deficit, we inherited about, 4.5-4.6 per cent, which is now down to 3.4 %, we had targeted 3.3 % but because of the last minute adjustments in the farm sector, we had to make 0.1 % compromise," he said. He was asked about the ‘leaked report’ of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) which said there was unprecedented unemployment in the country, “I don’t think it is a report. It is a draft which has not been approved,” he replied. Jaitley, the Finance Minister since 2014 whose charge has been temporarily given to Piyush Goyal, said it would be “economic absurdity to say that there are no jobs” when the country is witnessing high economic growth rate.“I completely refute (claims about joblessness),” he said. While terming the contention as “disinformation”.He said if there was such acute joblessness as projected, there would have been agitation, which is not the case. Talking about the budgetary provision of Rs 6000 each for marginal farmers, Jaitley said it is an additional support to the agriculturists. Reacting to the Opposition mocking the amount as being meagre, he said they should stop shedding “crocodile tears for the farmers”. Noting that the provision will involve annual outlay of Rs 75,000 crore, the senior minister said this allocation is for the first year which can increase in the future. Jaitley emphasised that loan waivers are not a solution to the farmers’ woes but acknowledged that India’s farm sector still needs support. Attacking the Congress, Jaitley questioned what the UPA government had done during its 10-year rule."What did the UPA do in 10 years of power- a onetime loan waiver of 70,000 crores. Only 52,ooo crores were waived. And the CAG report was that, out of the 52,ooo crores a significant part went to the traders and businessmen and not to the farmers. So a political group or a party which came out with a national hoax of this kind has the audacity to say that a scheme like this at a pan-India level is too little, " he said."Please don’t shed crocodile tears today for the farmers. The opposition also has several governments, let them announce similar schemes, I am sure the other governments within their fiscal space will also consider this and therefore you can top it off. And it is not like this is the sole prerogative or the responsibility of the Centre, we are in a cooperative federalism both Centre and state must cooperate. This is a huge amount we are doing and we are now as against a onetime loan waiver of 52,000 cr which was partly eaten by traders and businessmen. This is 75,000 cr in the first year itself, I am sure it will expand in future years," he added. Asked to comment on criticism that the interim Budget presented on Friday was aimed at wooing the voters in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Jaitley said, “Budgets are a part of Parliamentary democracy, so are the elections.”Citing the previous examples of populist budgets, he said in 2009 and 2014 the then Finance Ministers of UPA governments Pranab Mukherjee and P. Chidambaram had announced stimulus packages. "In the 2009 interim budget, Mr. Paranab Mukherjee, not even in the interim budget, but while replying to it announced a stimulus package, where he reduced the excise duty to 2 per cent across the board, well the same argument was applicable then? In 2014 Mr. Chidambaram on a number of products including engineering products and automobiles gave a duty rebate, the same argument can be taken now?" he asked. He also refuted allegations of any agrarian crisis in the nation and said, " I guess by saying crisis, we are overstating it. the Indian farmer is really the producer of our food, his productivity levels have immensely improved and therefore in the last few decades we have seen shortages becoming into surpluses. Four years ago pulses were in shortage, he is now producing in surpluses. Now he gets hit because he is producing more and the cost goes down and therefore world over, even the US is subsidizing its farmers, the EU is subsidizing there farmers ." "Everywhere you maintain a balance between food prices and subsidizing the framers so that the farmer gets the incentive for producing something. I think our farm sector still needs support and I am quite sure if the Centre and the states come together, with these kinds of programs, rather than mere myopic slogans, which really will not give long term sustenance to the farmers, it can certainly achieve a lot more," he added. He saw no wrong if the middle class, which is a big chunk in India, gets some help through a budgetary exercise."The kind of fiscal space that we have created enables us to help the middle class and mind you India`s middle class is being very vastly strengthened. I recently went through a study; Which said in 2005, we had 18 % middle class, in 2015 it was 29 %, in 2025 it is projected to be 44 %," he said."So within a generation, you will see a large majority of Indians graduating into the middle class. And if the UPA inflicted a 10% inflation on them, which we brought down, obviously the taxpayer also, his real value of money has declined and therefore exempting the smaller taxpayer and mind you his ability to spend more means a boost to the economy. What given by a way of direct tax benefit also comes back by a way of indirect taxes because the purchasing power of the India`s middle class has improved," he added. (ANI)

Claims on joblessness economic absurdity: Arun Jaitley

<p>First, consider the numbers. Between 2003 and 2009, the high growth years of the economy, when GDP grew by 8 per cent per year on average, the number of good jobs, that is, jobs in the formal sector of the economy, grew at not even one-tenth that number. Look at it another way. Every year millions of new aspirants enter the job market to compete for a few hundred thousand new jobs.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Even the lowest paid government jobs regularly attract such large numbers of extremely over-qualified applicants that violence ensues in the wake of examinations.</h5>
</blockquote>
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<p>Now let us descend to the ground. We witness enormous agitations for reservations in government jobs rising from traditionally dominant castes, such as Jats, Patels, and Marathas. Around two weeks ago, in West Bengal, 2.5 million young men and women appeared for an exam for 6000 Group-D positions in the state government. Graduates and post-graduates had applied for these positions which require an elementary school certificate and with the pay of Rs. 16,200 per month.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One increasingly popular term captures all this: &ldquo;jobless growth.&rdquo; While this phenomenon has been known at least since the mid-1990s, and is observed across the world, it is becoming a hot political issue. And not a day too soon.&nbsp;</p>

<p>What is the economy for, anyway? It is always a good question to ask whenever we risk getting lost in GDP numbers, policy reforms, and stock market movements. These are all means to an end, viz. enabling all of us to enjoy fulfilling, creative, happy lives. In a market economy, adequate regular money income is a precondition for such a life. Yet our economy continues to deny this precondition to the vast majority of its workers. So, while GDP grows at some of the fastest rates seen across the world, the number of people who are able to enjoy a good life increase at a much much slower rate. And even this increase is very uneven across regions, occupations, castes, genders, and religions with some, like displaced farmers and artisans seeing declines in their living standards.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Riding a wave of resentment against the previous regime, the Prime Minister himself made jobs a central issue during his campaign. But three years later, not much has changed and the BJP government is being seen as a failure on the job creation front. After several weeks of bad press on this issue, a few days ago, BJP President Amit Shah issued a statement that it was not possible to provide formal sector jobs to everyone in a country of 125 crore people. This is a telling as well as an astonishing statement. Telling because it admits to a truth that few would admit to. That under the present set of policies (whether BJP or UPA) universal employment is impossible. Astonishing because for decades the transition to a completely formal economy has been the very definition of development. That we, and many other countries, have failed at acheiving this is surely an indictment of our policies. But are we then giving up on development? Or are we redefining it? And if so how? There is no answer.</p>

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<h5>Regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India.</h5>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The intense hunger for even the lowest paid government jobs comes as no surprise once we take a look at the Ministry of Labour numbers on earnings in the Indian labour market. According to the most recent Employment-Unemployment Survey of the Labour Bureau (2014-2015), regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India. Earnings from either self-employment or casual wage work (both of which together account for the remaining 80 per cent of the workforce) fall far short of a secure, decent, livelihood.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Nationally, 67 per cent of households reports monthly earnings of Rs. 10,000 or less. 98 per cent are under Rs. 50,000 per month. Earning over Rs 1 lakh per month puts a household in the top 0.2 per cent of income earners in the country. &nbsp;More than half of the regular wage/salaried workers i.e. 57 per cent have monthly average earnings of up to Rs 10,000, well under the government minimum salary under the 7th pay commission. 59 per cent of the casual workers has monthly earnings of up to Rs 5000.</p>

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<h5>Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs.</h5>
</blockquote>
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<p>Of course, the current government in Delhi must take its share of the blame for the jobs crisis. But there is plenty of blame to go around. Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But the problem goes beyond India too. In the 1950s-80s, in Japan, Korea and the other &ldquo;East Asian Miracle countries&rdquo;, rapid GDP growth generated a vast number of jobs. This shifted a predominantly agricultural workforce to manufacturing and services. Not only that, jobs were created in the formal sector.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In contrast, in India and China, particularly since the 1990s, despite high levels of growth, formal employment generation has been slow. This is a general phenomenon across Asia. Manufacturing, in particular, is a big concern. In the 2005-2011 period, according to National Sample Survey data, manufacturing employment in India increased by 6 million while that in construction increased by 25 million. Construction accounted for half of all new non-agricultural jobs added in this period. The &ldquo;Make in India&rdquo; campaign aims to generate 100 million jobs by 2022 in the manufacturing sector. While the goal is laudable, given trends reported above, this seems unlikely to materialise. And Amit Shah&rsquo;s statement, referred to earlier, seems to indicate that backpedaling on this issue has started already.</p>


Under the present set of policies (whether BJP or UPA) universal employment is impossible

First, consider the numbers. Between 2003 and 2009, the high growth years of the economy, when GDP grew by 8 per cent per year on average, the number of good jobs, that is, jobs in the formal sector of the economy, grew at not even one-tenth that number. Look at it another way. Every year millions of new aspirants enter the job market to compete for a few hundred thousand new jobs. Even the lowest paid government jobs regularly attract such large numbers of extremely over-qualified applicants that violence ensues in the wake of examinations. × Now let us descend to the ground. We witness enormous agitations for reservations in government jobs rising from traditionally dominant castes, such as Jats, Patels, and Marathas. Around two weeks ago, in West Bengal, 2.5 million young men and women appeared for an exam for 6000 Group-D positions in the state government. Graduates and post-graduates had applied for these positions which require an elementary school certificate and with the pay of Rs. 16,200 per month. One increasingly popular term captures all this: “jobless growth.” While this phenomenon has been known at least since the mid-1990s, and is observed across the world, it is becoming a hot political issue. And not a day too soon. What is the economy for, anyway? It is always a good question to ask whenever we risk getting lost in GDP numbers, policy reforms, and stock market movements. These are all means to an end, viz. enabling all of us to enjoy fulfilling, creative, happy lives. In a market economy, adequate regular money income is a precondition for such a life. Yet our economy continues to deny this precondition to the vast majority of its workers. So, while GDP grows at some of the fastest rates seen across the world, the number of people who are able to enjoy a good life increase at a much much slower rate. And even this increase is very uneven across regions, occupations, castes, genders, and religions with some, like displaced farmers and artisans seeing declines in their living standards. Riding a wave of resentment against the previous regime, the Prime Minister himself made jobs a central issue during his campaign. But three years later, not much has changed and the BJP government is being seen as a failure on the job creation front. After several weeks of bad press on this issue, a few days ago, BJP President Amit Shah issued a statement that it was not possible to provide formal sector jobs to everyone in a country of 125 crore people. This is a telling as well as an astonishing statement. Telling because it admits to a truth that few would admit to. That under the present set of policies (whether BJP or UPA) universal employment is impossible. Astonishing because for decades the transition to a completely formal economy has been the very definition of development. That we, and many other countries, have failed at acheiving this is surely an indictment of our policies. But are we then giving up on development? Or are we redefining it? And if so how? There is no answer. Regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India. × The intense hunger for even the lowest paid government jobs comes as no surprise once we take a look at the Ministry of Labour numbers on earnings in the Indian labour market. According to the most recent Employment-Unemployment Survey of the Labour Bureau (2014-2015), regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India. Earnings from either self-employment or casual wage work (both of which together account for the remaining 80 per cent of the workforce) fall far short of a secure, decent, livelihood. Nationally, 67 per cent of households reports monthly earnings of Rs. 10,000 or less. 98 per cent are under Rs. 50,000 per month. Earning over Rs 1 lakh per month puts a household in the top 0.2 per cent of income earners in the country. More than half of the regular wage/salaried workers i.e. 57 per cent have monthly average earnings of up to Rs 10,000, well under the government minimum salary under the 7th pay commission. 59 per cent of the casual workers has monthly earnings of up to Rs 5000. Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs. × Of course, the current government in Delhi must take its share of the blame for the jobs crisis. But there is plenty of blame to go around. Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs. But the problem goes beyond India too. In the 1950s-80s, in Japan, Korea and the other “East Asian Miracle countries”, rapid GDP growth generated a vast number of jobs. This shifted a predominantly agricultural workforce to manufacturing and services. Not only that, jobs were created in the formal sector. In contrast, in India and China, particularly since the 1990s, despite high levels of growth, formal employment generation has been slow. This is a general phenomenon across Asia. Manufacturing, in particular, is a big concern. In the 2005-2011 period, according to National Sample Survey data, manufacturing employment in India increased by 6 million while that in construction increased by 25 million. Construction accounted for half of all new non-agricultural jobs added in this period. The “Make in India” campaign aims to generate 100 million jobs by 2022 in the manufacturing sector. While the goal is laudable, given trends reported above, this seems unlikely to materialise. And Amit Shah’s statement, referred to earlier, seems to indicate that backpedaling on this issue has started already.

Jobless growth plagues India

<p>First, consider the numbers. Between 2003 and 2009, the high growth years of the economy, when GDP grew by 8 per cent per year on average, the number of good jobs, that is, jobs in the formal sector of the economy, grew at not even one-tenth that number. Look at it another way. Every year millions of new aspirants enter the job market to compete for a few hundred thousand new jobs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Now let us descend to the ground. We witness enormous agitations for reservations in government jobs rising from traditionally dominant castes, such as Jats, Patels, and Marathas. Even the lowest paid government jobs regularly attract such large numbers of extremely over-qualified applicants that violence ensues in the wake of examinations. Around two weeks ago, in West Bengal, 2.5 million young men and women appeared for an exam for 6000 Group-D positions in the state government. Graduates and post-graduates had applied for these positions which require an elementary school certificate and pay Rs. 16,200 per month.&nbsp;</p>

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<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>What is the economy for, anyway? It is always a good question to ask whenever we risk getting lost in GDP numbers, policy reforms, and stock market movements</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=What is the economy for, anyway? It is always a good question to ask whenever we risk getting lost in GDP numbers, policy reforms, and stock market movements" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
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</div>
</div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>One increasingly popular term captures all this: &ldquo;jobless growth.&rdquo; While this phenomenon has been known at least since the mid-1990s, and is observed across the world, it is becoming a hot political issue. And not a day too soon.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>What is the economy for, anyway? It is always a good question to ask whenever we risk getting lost in GDP numbers, policy reforms, and stock market movements. These are all means to an end, viz. enabling all of us to enjoy fulfilling, creative, happy lives. In a market economy, adequate regular money income is a precondition for such a life. Yet our economy continues to deny this precondition to the vast majority of its workers. So, while GDP grows at some of the fastest rates seen across the world, the number of people who are able to enjoy a good life increase at a much much slower rate. And even this increase is very uneven across regions, occupations, castes, genders, and religions with some, like displaced farmers and artisans seeing declines in their living standards.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Riding a wave of resentment against the previous regime, the Prime Minister himself made jobs a central issue during his campaign. But three years later, not much has changed and the BJP government is being seen as a failure on the job creation front. After several weeks of bad press on this issue, a few days ago, BJP President Amit Shah issued a statement that it was not possible to provide formal sector jobs to everyone in a country of 125&nbsp; crore people. This is a telling as well as an astonishing statement. Telling because it admits to a truth that few would admit to. That under the present set of policies (whether BJP or UPA) universal employment is impossible. Astonishing because for decades the transition to a completely formal economy has been the very definition of development. That we, and many other countries, have failed at acheiving this is surely an indictment of our policies. But are we then giving up on development? Or are we redefining it? And if so how? There is no answer.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The intense hunger for even the lowest paid government jobs comes as no surprise once we take a look at the Ministry of Labour numbers on earnings in the Indian labour market. According to the most recent Employment-Unemployment Survey of the Labour Bureau (2014-2015), regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India. Earnings from either self-employment or casual wage work (both of which together account for the remaining 80 per cent of the workforce) fall far short of a secure, decent, livelihood.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Nationally, 67 per cent of households reports monthly earnings of Rs. 10,000 or less. 98 per cent are under Rs. 50,000 per month. Earning over Rs 1 lakh per month puts a household in the top 0.2 per cent of income earners in the country.&nbsp; More than half of the regular wage/salaried workers i.e. 57 per cent have monthly average earnings of up to Rs 10,000, well under the government minimum salary under the 7th pay commission. 59 per cent of the casual workers has monthly earnings of up to Rs 5000.</p>

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<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
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</div>
</div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Of course, the current government in Delhi must take its share of the blame for the jobs crisis. But there is plenty of blame to go around. Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>But the problem goes beyond India too. In the 1950s-80s, in Japan, Korea and the other &ldquo;East Asian Miracle countries&rdquo;, rapid GDP growth generated a vast number of jobs. This shifted a predominantly agricultural workforce to manufacturing and services. Not only that, jobs were created in the formal sector.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>In contrast, in India and China, particularly since the 1990s, despite high levels of growth, formal employment generation has been slow. This is a general phenomenon across Asia. Manufacturing, in particular, is a big concern. In the 2005-2011 period, according to National Sample Survey data, manufacturing employment in India increased by 6 million while that in construction increased by 25 million. Construction accounted for half of all new non-agricultural jobs added in this period. The &ldquo;Make in India&rdquo; campaign aims to generate 100 million jobs by 2022 in the manufacturing sector. While the goal is laudable, given trends reported above, this seems unlikely to materialise. And Amit Shah&rsquo;s statement, referred to earlier, seems to indicate that backpedaling on this issue has started already.</p>

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While GDP grows at some of the fastest rates seen across the world, the number of people who are able to enjoy a good life increase at a much much slower rate.

First, consider the numbers. Between 2003 and 2009, the high growth years of the economy, when GDP grew by 8 per cent per year on average, the number of good jobs, that is, jobs in the formal sector of the economy, grew at not even one-tenth that number. Look at it another way. Every year millions of new aspirants enter the job market to compete for a few hundred thousand new jobs. Now let us descend to the ground. We witness enormous agitations for reservations in government jobs rising from traditionally dominant castes, such as Jats, Patels, and Marathas. Even the lowest paid government jobs regularly attract such large numbers of extremely over-qualified applicants that violence ensues in the wake of examinations. Around two weeks ago, in West Bengal, 2.5 million young men and women appeared for an exam for 6000 Group-D positions in the state government. Graduates and post-graduates had applied for these positions which require an elementary school certificate and pay Rs. 16,200 per month. What is the economy for, anyway? It is always a good question to ask whenever we risk getting lost in GDP numbers, policy reforms, and stock market movements × One increasingly popular term captures all this: “jobless growth.” While this phenomenon has been known at least since the mid-1990s, and is observed across the world, it is becoming a hot political issue. And not a day too soon. What is the economy for, anyway? It is always a good question to ask whenever we risk getting lost in GDP numbers, policy reforms, and stock market movements. These are all means to an end, viz. enabling all of us to enjoy fulfilling, creative, happy lives. In a market economy, adequate regular money income is a precondition for such a life. Yet our economy continues to deny this precondition to the vast majority of its workers. So, while GDP grows at some of the fastest rates seen across the world, the number of people who are able to enjoy a good life increase at a much much slower rate. And even this increase is very uneven across regions, occupations, castes, genders, and religions with some, like displaced farmers and artisans seeing declines in their living standards. Riding a wave of resentment against the previous regime, the Prime Minister himself made jobs a central issue during his campaign. But three years later, not much has changed and the BJP government is being seen as a failure on the job creation front. After several weeks of bad press on this issue, a few days ago, BJP President Amit Shah issued a statement that it was not possible to provide formal sector jobs to everyone in a country of 125 crore people. This is a telling as well as an astonishing statement. Telling because it admits to a truth that few would admit to. That under the present set of policies (whether BJP or UPA) universal employment is impossible. Astonishing because for decades the transition to a completely formal economy has been the very definition of development. That we, and many other countries, have failed at acheiving this is surely an indictment of our policies. But are we then giving up on development? Or are we redefining it? And if so how? There is no answer. Regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India × The intense hunger for even the lowest paid government jobs comes as no surprise once we take a look at the Ministry of Labour numbers on earnings in the Indian labour market. According to the most recent Employment-Unemployment Survey of the Labour Bureau (2014-2015), regular salaried workers account for only 20 per cent of all workers in India. Earnings from either self-employment or casual wage work (both of which together account for the remaining 80 per cent of the workforce) fall far short of a secure, decent, livelihood. Nationally, 67 per cent of households reports monthly earnings of Rs. 10,000 or less. 98 per cent are under Rs. 50,000 per month. Earning over Rs 1 lakh per month puts a household in the top 0.2 per cent of income earners in the country. More than half of the regular wage/salaried workers i.e. 57 per cent have monthly average earnings of up to Rs 10,000, well under the government minimum salary under the 7th pay commission. 59 per cent of the casual workers has monthly earnings of up to Rs 5000. Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs × Of course, the current government in Delhi must take its share of the blame for the jobs crisis. But there is plenty of blame to go around. Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have embraced liberalisation and privatisation policies that have failed to generate jobs. But the problem goes beyond India too. In the 1950s-80s, in Japan, Korea and the other “East Asian Miracle countries”, rapid GDP growth generated a vast number of jobs. This shifted a predominantly agricultural workforce to manufacturing and services. Not only that, jobs were created in the formal sector. In contrast, in India and China, particularly since the 1990s, despite high levels of growth, formal employment generation has been slow. This is a general phenomenon across Asia. Manufacturing, in particular, is a big concern. In the 2005-2011 period, according to National Sample Survey data, manufacturing employment in India increased by 6 million while that in construction increased by 25 million. Construction accounted for half of all new non-agricultural jobs added in this period. The “Make in India” campaign aims to generate 100 million jobs by 2022 in the manufacturing sector. While the goal is laudable, given trends reported above, this seems unlikely to materialise. And Amit Shah’s statement, referred to earlier, seems to indicate that backpedaling on this issue has started already.

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