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Notwithstanding a robust growth rate, the Indian economy is facing the enormous challenge of providing adequate employment opportunities to the youth of the country. According to the latest quarterly periodic labour force survey, conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) the urban unemployment rate among youth aged between 15 to 29 years has risen to 2.5 per cent and any further rise in the rate may lead to major social upheaval. To tackle this grave crisis, government must put emphasis on policy interventions. The need of the hour is to draw a comprehensive roadmap with long-term objectives including strengthening the rural economy, prioritising agricultural production and ensuring a conducive business environment for easy and regulated trading practices. In this context, it must be noted that providing monetary assistance to the youth only offers a temporary solution to the problem. India with its vast workforce should restrain itself from taking such short-term measures as it may complicate the employment situation further. The government and private sector should work in tandem to open new vistas for employment capable of engaging the youths of the country. The seriousness of the problem can be judged from the fact that more than 10 million youth applied for 35 thousand jobs in the Indian railways recently. Furthermore, there were over five million aspirants for little over 60 thousand vacancies in Uttar Pradesh, while in West Bengal government employment has virtually come to a halt due to a number of litigations alleging malpractice and financial fraud. Such developments indicate a highly limited job market and is bound to increase economic disparities among various sections of society.
To prevent the situation from worsening further, first and foremost the authorities should keep a strict vigil on the implementation of labour laws in the private sector as government jobs alone cannot solve the unemployment problem. As a matter of fact, amongst the 27.5 million applicants the government has managed to employ merely one per cent between 2015 to 2022. So, non-government jobs should be made as equally well compensated as government jobs by ensuring job security, fixed working hours and other facilities related to health, housing and retirement. If labour laws are strictly followed in the private sector, the number of aspirants for government jobs will decline considerably. In short, effort should be made to create private jobs as attractive as government jobs. Secondly, despite having a huge workforce, there is a dearth of skilled labour in the country. The government should provide many more skill development training opportunities to the youth of the country, preparing them for a variety of jobs available in the market, which in turn will attract new capital and strengthen the economy. Thirdly, emphasis should be given to labour-intensive industries to create more employment opportunities for the unemployed. Addressing India’s unemployment challenge necessitates a collaborative effort with the government spearheading policy changes and the private sector driving job creation and individuals equipping themselves with necessary skills and training.