A proposed government committee to draft a national employment policy is expected to come out with a roadmap for enhancing employment opportunities. The Mint explains how the policy might work and its potential impact on the economy.
What is the purpose of the panel?
With the renewed focus on employment following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the Center has proposed a committee to draft guidelines for the National Employment Policy. The current weekly employment status data in urban areas shows that the unemployment rate (UR), which peaked at 20.8% in April-June 2020, fell to 10.3% in October-December 2020. The panel will work to create a roadmap for generating employment opportunities. in India. Work has begun to identify its members, including representatives from the Ministry of Labour, other ministries, academia and industry experts.
What can be the focus of the policy?
The panel can suggest sector wise targets for the jobs. Given the expected boost to employment from the recent Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes and the growing demand for gig workers, it aims to create an enabling environment for startups and new industries to create jobs, improve skill sets facility will have to be provided. of workers and preparing them for employment. More attention is expected to be given to the participation of women workforce. The panel may also announce incentives for employment generation. The recommendations may be based on data from ongoing labor surveys.
What is the current unemployment scenario?
According to the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), India’s unemployment rate stood at 7.75% in October 2021, up from 11.84% and 9.17% in May and June 2021. It is worth mentioning that the estimates of CMIE require careful consideration of these numbers. These are based on a small sample size of 44,600 households per month spread across the country.
What can be a balanced approach?
The government should think in terms of a ‘national economic policy’ rather than looking at a specific by-product i.e. job creation. The employment generation ratio is bound to vary from region to region. The quarterly employment survey (QES) for April-June 2021 showed that manufacturing accounts for 41% of employment, followed by education at 22%, health at 8% and business and IT/ITES at 7%. It is important that national priorities are set based on the aspirations of the society.
Who should be the nodal agency?
With a focus on attracting domestic and foreign investors to employment-intensive sectors and making the country a global manufacturing hub, it aims to formulate a sector-wise strategy. The nodal agency may be a separate ministry for economic affairs. It can also be implemented under the Ministry of Finance or PMO. The task of drafting the policy should not be left to the Ministry of Labor and Employment alone.
Jagdish Shettigar and Pooja Mishra are faculty members at BIMTECH.
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