Employment Challenges and Solutions

Chapter Notes:

• Employment Disparity in India:

  • While the tertiary sector has become the largest producing sector, a similar shift has not occurred in employment.

  • The primary sector (agriculture) continues to be the largest employer, employing more than half of the workers, despite contributing only about one-sixth of the GDP.

  • This is due to insufficient job creation in the secondary and tertiary sectors. Industrial output increased nine times, but employment only three times; service sector production rose 14 times, but employment only five times.

• Underemployment / Disguised Unemployment:

  • Definition: A situation where people are seemingly working but are made to work less than their full potential, meaning more people are employed in an activity than necessary.

  • Characteristic: This type of unemployment is “hidden” or “disguised” as individuals appear to be working.

  • Example (Laxmi’s family): A small farmer’s family, where all five members work on a two-hectare plot, but the removal of one or two members would not affect agricultural production, indicating surplus labor.

  • Prevalence: Common in the agricultural sector in India. Also observed in the urban service sector, with casual workers (painters, plumbers, street vendors) who do not find work every day or earn very little due to lack of better opportunities.

• How to Create More Employment:

  • Rural Employment Generation:

    • Irrigation Facilities: Government investment or bank loans for wells and dams can enable double-cropping and employ more people in agriculture.

    • Infrastructure & Credit: Investment in transportation, storage (godowns, cold storage), and better rural roads helps farmers sell surplus produce, creating employment in transport and trade. Provision of cheap agricultural credit helps farmers buy inputs.

    • Industries in Semi-Rural Areas: Promoting and locating industries (e.g., dal mills, cold storages, honey collection centers, food processing units) in semi-rural areas can provide employment beyond large urban centers.

  • Urban & Service Sector Employment:

    • Education Sector: A study estimated that nearly 20 lakh (2 million) jobs can be created in the education sector (more buildings, teachers, staff) if more children attend school.

    • Health Sector: Improving health infrastructure requires more doctors, nurses, and health workers, especially in rural areas.

    • Tourism & Regional Crafts: Potential for increasing income and employment through tourism or regional craft industries.

  • Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA 2005):

    • A central government law providing the ‘Right to Work’.

    • Guarantees 100 days of employment in a year to those able and in need of work in rural areas.

    • Government failure to provide employment leads to unemployment allowances.

    • Prioritizes work that increases land production.

• Division of Sectors as Organised and Unorganised:

  • Organised Sector:

    • Enterprises or workplaces with regular terms of employment and assured work.

    • Registered by the government and follow rules/regulations from various laws (Factories Act, Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Gratuity Act, Shops and Establishments Act).

    • Workers enjoy employment security, fixed working hours, overtime pay, and other benefits (provident fund, medical allowances, paid holidays).

    • Some self-employed individuals also register with the government and follow rules.

  • Unorganised Sector: Not explicitly defined in the provided snippets, but implied as the counterpart to the organised sector, where rules and regulations are not followed, and employment is not secure.