Unemployment in India
Unemployment in India
Unemployment refers to a situation when a person is able but does not get opportunity to work. The most significant point to note is that the nature of occupational structure of the country has remained agriculture. Therefore, our unemployment problem is different from that of the industrially advanced countries. More than 60% of Indian labour force does not belong to the category of wage earners. Only 39% of our labour force in comparison to 86% in case of industrialized countries are wage earners. Therefore, the type of unemployment prevailing in India is disguised unemployment. Then ours is traditionally a rural economy and the features of our employment are both unemployment & under employment.
As a result the educated middle class is acutely afflicted with this problem. The causes of unemployment can be attributed to the traditional kind of education and lack of development of vocational education system. We are still following the old system of education introduced by Macauley to train Babus for the rulers.
Again industrial development has not kept pace with educational facilities. At the same time the growth of agriculture sector has remained sluggish. Therefore, the migration of rural population to cities in search of jobs is on the increase. We have also not been able to develop labour intensive techniques where by the unemployed educated youth could get suitable jobs. Further the process of computerization both in private and public sectors has rendered most of the employed persons redundant. The attraction of educated rural youth to the city life has also added to the gravity of the situation. One of the causes of unemployment for young persons is also stated to be young women taking up jobs, thus reducing the chances of employment for young men.
The govt, of India has adopted several specific measures to tackle the vexing unemployment problem in the country. Almost all the five year plans have given top priority to the creation of greater employment opportunities but no effective results have come out. Jawahar Rozgar Yojna has been in operation since 1989. National Rural Employment Programme and Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programmes were merged with JRY. The target group of JRY is those living below poverty line. Along with this, Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM) is also in operation to prepare the youth for self employment. The urban counterpart of JRY is Nehru Rozgar Yogna. The target group of the NRY is the urban poor living below the poverty line. In this manner Indian Govt, has launched many such plans for the unemployed youth.
India has to tackle this problem both on rural and urban fronts. One must be clear that unless rural economy is reformed & developed unemployment problem in India can not be solved. Right from the beginning our villages should have been paid attention since 75% of our population lives in villages. There is a vast scope for rural development. The promotion of rural social activities can only stop the migration of rural population to the cities in search of jobs. The promotion of rural social activities such as education, housing and health services should be effectively undertaken. Agro based industries should be developed. Above all our educational system needs drastic changes so that it may encourage really deserving students to go in for higher studies.