Report by ILO calls employment situation in India in worrisome state; 83% Indian youth jobless
New Delhi: The employment analysis of the Institute for Human Development (IHD) and International Labour Organisation (ILO), titled 'India Employment Report 2024' and released on Tuesday, has shown the employment condition in the country to be poor even after showing improvement in matters of overall labour force participation, workforce participation and employment rates in the past few years after battling a long-term downfall from 200 to 2019.
The report shows a reversal in the show transition to non-agricultural employment. It also throws light on facts like women contributing greatly for the hike in self-employment rate as well as unpaid family work, jobs available for youth being lower in quality than those for adults, unpaid family work also being higher in proportion for youths as compared to adults as well as stagnation or decline in wages and earnings.
Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran, who released the report, said that it would be incorrect to assume the need or demand government intervention for every social or economic problem as the industry was required to employ more people. "We need to get out of the mindset. In the normal world, it is the commercial sector, those who engage in for-profit activity, who need to do the hiring,” he said.
"The government has taken several actions to facilitate better employment opportunity, including skill development initiatives along with the National Education Policy (NEP), which is 'futuristic' and therefore, should not become hostage to political consideration," said Nageswaran.
The Chief Economic Advisor pointed out that several other facilities were provided by the government in the employment sector, like payment of employers' contribution to new employees under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana and the new tax regime that permits deduction of wages to employees, thereby "not favouring capital accumulation over employment generation".
Explaining that employment-seekers were provided opportunity to improve their skills, Nageswaran admitted that the availability of instructors and dropout rate were among the issues that need to be addressed by the government as there was scope for considerable improvement. He stated that the government was mindful of the issues too.
The report by IHD-ILO stated that the levels of youth employment and underemployment had increased in India from 2000 to 2019, but had fallen during the pandemic outbreak. It added that youths struggling to get jobs, especially those with at least a secondary level of education, had increased in number over the years, with 2022 recording the share of jobless youth among the total unemployed population in the country as 82.9 per cent. It said, "The share of educated youths among all unemployed people also increased, from 54.2 per cent in 2000 to 65.7 per cent in 2022. Among the educated (secondary level or higher) unemployed youths, women accounted for a larger share (76.7 per cent) than men (62.2 per cent). This indicates that the problem of unemployment in India has become increasingly concentrated among the youth, especially educated youths and women in urban areas."
It pointed out that economic policies were required to boost productive non-agriculture employment, especially in the manufacturing sector, as India is likely to add 7-8 million youth annually to the labour force over the next decade, approximately. India, therefore, needed to give priority to labour-intensive manufacturing works to absorb its abundant unskilled work force and to combine with select services, the report added.
The micro, small and medium enterprises need greater support, especially through a decentralized approach, including digitization and artificial intelligence as well as cluster-based approach to manufacturing. India needs to improve its quality of jobs by investing in and regulating the sectors like care and digital economy, which can be expected to contribute jobs for youths. With a hike expected in both urbanization and migration in India, the economy would need an inclusive urban policy to address the needs of migrants, women and impoverished youths, the analysis advised.
It further stated that skill development and active labour market policies (ALMPs) need more effective roles in bridging the gap between the supply and demand for jobs and also in making the overall labour market more inclusive. A larger and more targeted role for state governments, stronger partnerships with the private sector and other stakeholders and also greater contribution by the non-state and private sector would be needed to address the issue at hand, it added.
The IHD-ILO report highlighted five key policy areas to take further action on the matter - promoting job creation; improving employment quality; addressing labour market inequalities; strengthening skills and active labour market policies; and bridging the knowledge deficits on labour market patterns and youth employment.
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Delhi sees 140 per cent rise in fire calls in April as city reels under intense heat
New Delhi (PTI): As temperatures climb across the national capital, fire incidents have surged sharply, with the Delhi Fire Services responding to over 3,200 calls this month until April 26, even as daily calls have risen by around 140 per cent compared to the pre-April period.
Before April, the department was receiving around 70 to 80 calls daily, which has now increased to nearly 190 to 200 calls per day, especially since last Monday, amid the ongoing spell of heat, an official said.
"Heat alone is not the only factor, but it is certainly a major contributing one," a DFS official told PTI, adding that as temperatures rise, the load on electrical infrastructure increases significantly.
"Air conditioners run continuously, wiring heats up, and transformers operate under stress, which raises the chances of short circuits and fire incidents," the official explained.
The official further added that the weather is also extremely dry at this time, which compounds the vulnerability, making even a small spark dangerous.
Once a fire starts, it tends to spread faster than usual under such conditions, he said.
"We do observe a seasonal rise in fire incidents during summer months every year, but this time the increase has been sharper," the official underscored, adding that the combination of sustained high temperatures, dry winds and increased power usage is making the situation more challenging.
"Our teams are on alert and responding to a significantly higher volume of calls on a daily basis," the official emphasised.
The spike in fire calls comes as Delhi continues to reel under high temperatures, fluctuating between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius in recent days.
On April 25, the city recorded a maximum of 42.8 degrees Celsius, 5.1 degrees above normal, making it the highest April temperature recorded in the last four years, since 2022 when the mercury had reached 43.5 degrees Celsius on April 28.
On Monday, at Safdarjung, the city’s base station, the maximum temperature was recorded at 42.3 degrees Celsius, 3.3 degrees above normal, making it the second-hottest day of the month.
Palam also recorded a maximum of 42.3 degrees Celsius, about 2.1 degrees above normal, while Lodhi Road logged 42.4 degrees Celsius, about 4.4 degrees above normal.
The Ridge station recorded the highest maximum at 43.8 degrees Celsius, about 4.3 degrees above normal, followed by Ayanagar at 43.2 degrees Celsius, around 3.7 degrees above normal.
However, some respite is expected in the coming days, with the weather office forecasting thunderstorms, gusty winds and light rain from Tuesday onwards, which could bring a dip in temperatures next week.
