PROVIDING GAINFUL
EMPLOYMENT
Dr
Sahib Singh Verma*
Calling for upgrading
the skill level of Indian labour force, the Prime Minister recently
stressed the need to constantly explore new avenues of employment
generation for our educated and not-so-educated youth. Shri Atal
Bihari Vajpaye also emphasised that upgrading skills and knowledge
base will open the avenues for more and better quality employment.
Today only 5 per
cent of the Indian labour force in the age group of 20-24 has
vocational skills. In contrast, the percentage in the developed
countries is much higher, varying between 60 per cent to 80 per
cent. The illiterate and semi-literate constitute a very high
percentage of the existing workforce. The level of educational
attainment of the existing workforce is very low. The educated
persons without professional skills constitute nearly 70 per cent
of the total unemployed. Given the nearly 40 crore-strong labour
force in India, the enormity of the problem and the resources
required to tackle these issues can very well be appreciated.
Therefore an extensive programme for improving labour market information,
vocational guidance and skill training is the need of the hour.
The skill level and educational attainment of the workforce determines
the productivity as well as the adaptability of the working class
in a changing environment. The Prime Minister also said that this
productivity route to attaining a higher rate of growth of GDP
is of particular relevance to India. We have more labour and relatively
less capital. Hence, our growth strategy has to be less capital-intensive
and more productivity-intensive with a large employment base.
Growth Strategy
According to the
Report of the Committee on India Vision: 2020, India’s labour
force has reached approximately 37.5 crore in 2002 and it will
continue to expand over the next two decades. The actual rate
of that expansion will depend on several factors including population
growth, growth of the working age population, labour force participation
rates, educational enrolment at higher levels and school drop-out
rates. Projections based on these parameters indicate that India’s
labour force will expand by 0.7 to 0.85 crore per year during
the first decade of this century and will increase by a total
of about 16 to 17 crore by 2020, i.e., 2.0 per cent per annum.
Therefore the Government
has taken steps to reduce the incidence of unemployment in the
country. A Special Group headed by Dr. S.P Gupta, Member, Planning
Commission, was constituted to suggest a strategy and programme
for creation of one crore employment opportunities per year during
each year of the 10th Plan period. Thus, the 10th Plan aims at
accomplishing a faster economic growth with a stronger thrust
on employment generation and equity. It had set the target of
8 per cent annual average GDP growth rate during the Eighth Plan
period (1992-97) with a companion target of 5 crore additional
employment and self-employment opportunities. Out of this, about
3 crore employment opportunities are to be from the usual growth
process and the remaining 2 crore through special employment generation
schemes with emphasis on agriculture, irrigation, agro-forestry,
small and medium enterprises, information and communication technology,
tourism and other services. This is expected to substantially
reduce the unemployment problem in the country. The special group
has estimated that the number of unemployed persons will come
down to approximately 2.12 crore by the end of the 10th Plan.
Special Programmes
Employment in the
economy is generated through the normal growth process as well
as by implementing special programmes. Therefore, the special
programmes being implemented by the Government include Swarna
Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SJGSY), Jawahar Gram Smriddhi Yojana
(JGSY), Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS), Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)
and Food For Work Programme. The Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana
(PMRY) is also being implemented to provide jobs to the educated
unemployed youth. Till the financial year 2002-03, approximately
Rs. 31,293.98 crore had been released and utilised.
The change that
this approach has brought about is already visible. In less than
a decade, the number of people living below the poverty line has
come down to 26 per cent. Over the last three years, over 70 lakh
employment and self-employment opportunities were created each
year.
Economic Reforms
The emerging
economic environment involving rapid technological changes, globalisation
of economy and liberalisation of trade and industry has led to
a change in the employment pattern. While there may have been
a decline in employment in certain sectors like agriculture, mining
and quarrying electricity, gas and water supply and in community,
social and personal services, a buoyant growth has been recorded
in others.
The number
of strikes and lockouts declined during 1997 to 2000 although
there has been an increase in the mandays lost due to these disturbances.
Through the conciliation efforts of the Central Industrial Relations
Machinery, major strikes were averted during 2002-03 in the coal
industry involving Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries
and in the ports and dock sector. This benefited a large number
of workforce and also averted the anticipated loss towards wages
and production. Manpower rationalisation and closure in such a
dynamic environment is a continuous process. During 1997- 2000,
there was some increase in the numbers of workers affected by
retrenchments and closures. Whenever any complaint regarding violation
of labour laws is received, necessary inspections are conducted
and due relief is provided to the affected workers, thereby averting
any labour unrest on this count.
As far as privatisation
of the public sector units (PSUs) is concerned in the changing
economic framework characterised by removal of restrictions on
global trade services and capital, disinvestment has been undertaken
in PSUs in the non-strategic areas. However, protection of the
workers interest is an integral part of the disinvestment policy.
Suitable provisions related to employees’ interest are included
in the shareholders’ agreement signed at the time of disinvestment.
To protect the interest
of workers affected by such closures and retrenchments, safeguards
are provided under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and other
labour legislations. In the Central sphere, for which the Union
Government is the appropriate authority, manpower rationalisation
and closure of units is normally effected only after all options
for revival and rehabilitation have been explored. Whenever manpower
rationalisation is found to be necessary, the Government offers
a voluntary retirement package to the surplus workers. The compensation
provided under this arrangement is better as compared to the retrenchment
compensation under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. A scheme
for counselling, retraining and redeployment of rationalised employees
of CPSUs has also been introduced since 2001-02 with an objective
to re-orient them through short-duration training programmes.
The emphasis is on skill development to enhance the employability
of the workers.
India’s New
Opportunity
According to
India’s New Opportunity – 2020 Report brought out by the All India
Management Association, 40 million new and high-value jobs can
be created by enriching our professional resource base and strengthening
our recent gains in the knowledge economy. The study argues that
developed countries are going to experience a large-scale shortage
of professional manpower in the coming years due to two factors:
ageing and low population growth rate. During the same period,
India is set to emerge as a nation with the largest employable
manpower in the world. The shortage of manpower in developed countries
would require them to attract the right kind of skill sets either
through migration or by outsourcing, made possible by the breathtaking
advances in information technology. Thus, India is uniquely placed
to take advantage of this situation by exporting its professional
services – either actually or virtually. The contribution of remote
services alone is expected to be anywhere between $ 100 billion
and $ 300 billion, with an addition of 1-2.4 lakh jobs each year.
India could become a preferred destination for medical and old
age tourism, educational services and leisure activities, apart
from a wide variety of other outsourced businesses. (PIB Features)
*Union
Labour Minister
