India's Unemployment rate all time high at 7.8% in March, highest in 3 months: CMIE data
New Delhi: According to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) on Saturday, India's labor markets have been deteriorating, with the unemployment rate rising to 7.8% in March - the highest in three months. This follows a surge to 8.3% in December 2022, which declined to 7.14% in January this year, but edged up slightly to 7.45% a month later. The unemployment rate was higher in cities at 8.4% compared to 7.5% in rural areas.
Mahesh Vyas, the managing director of CMIE, explained that this problem is exacerbated by a fall in the labor force participation rate, which dropped from 39.9% to 39.8%. This led to a decrease in employment from 409.9 million to 407.6 million. According to experts, the end of the festive season that began in October last year until January this year, had a negative impact on employment in retail, supply chain, logistics, financial services and e-commerce. This resulted in a slowdown in fresh hiring, with the technology and start-up sectors also tightening their belts.
The data showed that the lowest unemployment rates were in Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh at 0.8% each, followed by Puducherry at 1.5%, Gujarat at 1.8%, Karnataka at 2.3%, and Meghalaya and Odisha at 2.6% each.
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K'taka mid-day meal scheme: 6 days of eggs a week has led to increased school attendance, says DSEL
Bengaluru: Karnataka government’s initiative to provide eggs six days a week as an additional nutrient in the mid-day meal scheme has led to a significant increase in school attendance, according to the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL).
Officials stated that when eggs were previously provided twice a week, student attendance was at 93.5 percent, as reported by The Hindu. However, since the introduction of eggs six days a week, attendance has risen to an impressive 98.97 percent. Furthermore, the number of children eating eggs has increased by about four times compared to the number of students eating bananas — the other additional nutrient being provided in schools.
To combat malnutrition among school children, eggs, bananas, and groundnut chikkis have been distributed as supplementary nutrients along with mid-day meals in government and aided schools for students from Classes 1 to 10. With support from the Azim Premji Foundation for Development (APF), the state started providing eggs six days a week in September 2024. Students who do not consume eggs have been given bananas and chikkis. However, the government recently stopped distributing chikkis due to concerns about their quality.
“It has been observed that children’s attendance in schools has increased as eggs and bananas are being provided six days a week. This is a good development, as not only will malnutrition in children be reduced, but they will also develop academically,” K.V. Trilok Chandra, Commissioner, DPI, was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
In terms of regional consumption, Kolar Educational District recorded the highest percentage of students consuming eggs at 84.16 percent, followed by Kodagu (83.89 percent), Hassan (81.26 percent), and Chikkamagaluru (79.49 percent), added the report.
On the other hand, Chikkodi Educational District had the lowest number of children consuming eggs, at 30.97 percent, followed by Belagavi (41.78 percent) and Bengaluru North (41.19 percent).
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