Why in News: India, the world’s most populous and youngest country, is poised to add around 133 million people to its working-age population by 2043. Harnessing this demographic dividend demands that employment generation be treated as a national priority.
Significance of Employment Generation:
- Drives equity, inclusion, and poverty reduction by ensuring broad-based growth.
- Sustains consumption-led economic growth and enhances resilience.
- Reduces regional and social disparities, fostering balanced development.
Challenges:
- Lack of an integrated national framework for employment and livelihoods.
- Skill–job mismatch and low employability of graduates.
- Regional disparities and barriers to labour mobility.
- Low female labour force participation and informal workforce dominance.
- Inadequate and outdated employment data systems.
Policy Measures Needed:
- Formulate an Integrated National Employment Policy (INEP) aligning industrial, trade, labour, and education policies.
- Identify high-employment sectors – textiles, tourism, agro-processing, health care, MSMEs.
- Promote urban employment guarantee programmes to address job distress.
- Develop a National Gig Economy Policy ensuring social security, fair contracts, and skilling.
- Ensure timely implementation of the Labour Codes with clear transition support.
- Foster female employment through childcare infrastructure, flexible work, and ELI incentives.
- Build a national labour mobility framework – “One India for Employment Mobility.”
Way Forward:
- Establish a centralised employment data system for real-time labour market insights.
- Promote regionally balanced jobs in underdeveloped districts and smaller towns.
- Combine economic growth with job quality — ensuring fair wages, safety, and social security.
- Gig and Urban Jobs: Develop gig economy policy and pilot urban employment guarantees to address distress.
- Sectoral Focus: Promote labour-intensive sectors—MSMEs, textiles, tourism, agro-processing, and healthcare.
Conclusion:
Prioritising employment through an integrated, data-driven, and inclusive framework is vital for realising India’s demographic dividend and achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
UPSC
GS Paper 3 – Economy:
- Employment as a driver of growth, equity, and stability.
Mains Practice Questions:
Q. “Employment generation is the true measure of inclusive growth.” Discuss in the context of India’s demographic transition.