Q.2.While we flaunt India’s
demographic dividend, we ignore the dropping rates of employability. What are
missing while doing so? Where will the jobs that India desperately needs come Q.2.
While we flaunt India’s demographic dividend, we ignore the dropping rates of from?
(UPSC, CIVIL SERVICES MAIN EXAM, 2014, G.S -3 BY VASHISTHA RAY)
Ans: India
found a much needed solace with the size of its population when the term ‘demographic
dividend’ started gaining currency. Demographic dividend refers to benefits of
having large population or labour force. india can certainly be the beneficiary
of its demographic size as almost 63% of its population falls in the age group
of 15-64 which are considered to be working population and developed and large
economies of the world is going to face adequate labour shortage in days to
come because of their negative population growth. However, the euphoric
discussion of demographic dividend ignores dropping rates of employability in
India. This is due to the following factors:
A.
Skill-deficiency
India’s employability is seriously handicapped by skill deficiency. Availability
of jobs at domestic and international level requires educated and skilled
labour-force. But unfortunately, India
has been a house of churning-out uneducated and unskilled labour-force. This is
due to our inappropriate education system and inadequate on-job-training
program. We have also failed to preserve and develop our traditional skills in
handicrafts, artisans, astronomy and preparation of medicinal compound which could
have been the source of employment.
B.
Complex Tax Structure
The complex tax structure in our
country has given birth to frequent disputes between government and investors
or companies. This has worked as a disincentive to industrial growth and FDI. The
protracted tax dispute between central government and Vodafone sent wrong
signal to foreign investors and tarnished the image of India as investors’
friendly country. It was due to only tax
dispute with government that the largest plant of Nokia at Chennai employing
thousands of Indian workers had to be shut-down.
C.
Structural Bottlenecks
Structural bottlenecks in terms of
red-tapism , delay in critical policy decisions , poor conditions or non-availability
of infrastructure and complex labour laws have significantly discouraged entrepreneurs
to initiate business enterprises. This has also reduced our employability.
D.
Low Level Of Competitivenes
We are also losing outsourced jobs from
advanced countries to china and other countries. This is primarily due to lack
of suitable policy measures and low level of competitiveness in acquiring such
jobs.
India can
generate lots of jobs by developing its manufacturing sector which has ample
potential to absorb unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled labour simultaneously. It
can also get the required jobs from small-scale industries which are
labour-oriented. Development of export based industries may have key to
generation of job opportunities in India. We can also get jobs from FDI and
outsourcing by developed countries. Vashistha Ray
