By Nishant Sonkar
People here, people there, people are everywhere. Look here or there, the variety in age and gender astounds everyone. But to feed this population they need to have work. High paying jobs are available but there is less of it. So they have to get whatever is left and there is not much of it.
In the last few years India has seen, what can be called, a “jobless growth” since the net job generated had fallen down. The net employment generated fell sharply to only 4.7 million in the year 2009 – 10. Now how and why did this happen. The facts are as follows.
The shift away from agriculture
In a country as diverse as India, most of the people living in villages tend to be farmers. But in the recent years we have seen a shift away from the agricultural sector. People face hardships, the weather is a factor, the technology another and many more. All these factors have pushed people away from this profession. The shift has been more in the younger section who want better prospects than which are given.
Growth of labour demand
The demand of labour has increased. The employment in manufacturing sector has increased due to the setting up of new industries in different parts of the country. The service sector has seen a huge amount of increase in the demand of labour.
The urban scenario
In the urban areas where there are a lot of job opportunities the male section has seen an increase in the demand as well as the supply. With better education people are getting better jobs. Urban males accounted for only 16% of India’s total population, but 77% of all jobs in computer and related activities in 2011 – 12 and 60% in finance, real estate and business services. The share of female is increasing when it comes to urban females. There was 21% employment of women in finance, real estate and business services, 18% in computer and related activities and 3% in trade, repair and hotels.
I have seen this empowerment, of not only the men but also of the women. In the north campus of DU itself, you can see that the women who were not able to pay for their daily requirements can do so now. Sometimes I see a woman driving an e-rickshaw. I see progress in such small a thing. This means that there is a lot to work and we are working on it.
