Article: As India elects today, its’s time to remember the employment promises made for tomorrow

Recruitment

As India elects today, its’s time to remember the employment promises made for tomorrow

As the voting results of Lok Sabha Elections come in today, it’s time to take a look at the various promises made by political parties to improve employment in the country.
As India elects today, its’s time to remember the employment promises made for tomorrow

India’s dance of democracy comes to a grand finale today. As the country prepares for the D day today and vote counting begins at 8 am, the country will be engulfed in a frenzy throughout the day. We will have the final answer to the question as to who will lead the Indian democracy for the next five years? Will PM Modi retain his bastion or give away to a new government? Who has the world’s largest democracy in the world chosen to lead it for the next five years of its development?

Jobs and employment were one of the hotly debated issues in this election. While the IT sector is generating new jobs and doubling on hiring, but India’s rising unemployment rate sticks out as a sore thumb. In April, unemployment rose to 7.6 percent, the highest since October 2016, and up from 6.71 percent in March, as per data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

There is no dearth of working age population in India which increases by 23 million a year, according to CMIE. If at least 42 to 43 percent of these new labor market entrants join the workforce to actively seek employment, CMIE estimates that the Indian economy would have to provide for about 0.8 million jobs every month taking into account attrition due to retirement.

The new government will thus have a huge responsibility to deliver on the promise of jobs and employment. What were the promises and plans they have made to boost employment? Let’s take a quick look at what will be in store for you as far as employment is concerned, no matter who wins this election.

Employment and economic policy promises made by BJP

• To launch a new scheme to provide collateral-free credit up to Rs 50 lakh for entrepreneurs to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship amongst the youth; will guarantee 50% of the loan amount for female entrepreneurs and 25% for male entrepreneurs.

• To promote and encourage startups through creation of a `Seed Startup Fund` of Rs 20,000 crore.

• To create new opportunities for employment by providing more support to the 22 major `Champion Sectors` identified as the main drivers of Indian economy.

• To increase beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana from the current 17 crore entrepreneurs up to 30 crore.

• By 2024, to make a capital investment of Rs.100 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector; to announce a new industrial policy to improve the competitiveness of manufacturing and services.

• To extensively leverage forums such as BIMSTEC, to accelerate regional coordination and economic co-operation with countries in our neighborhood.

• To establish a National Traders` Welfare Board and create a national policy for Retail Trade for the growth of retail business.

• To aspire to make India the third largest economy of the world by 2030. This implies a commitment to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and $10 trillion economy by 2032.

Employment and economic policy promises made by the Congress

• To fill all 4 lakh Central Government and institutional vacancies before March 2020.

• To request state governments to fill all vacancies, estimated at 20 lakh, in the sectors of healthcare and education, and in local bodies.

• To launch a `Water Bodies Restoration Mission` and `Wasteland Regeneration Mission` to create 1 crore jobs.

• To exempt new businesses from applicable laws and regulations (except Minimum Wages Act and tax laws) for 3 years.

• To achieve the target of 3 percent of GDP by 2020-21 and to remain under that limit. Revenue deficit to be contained under 1 percent of GDP.

• To increase the share of India`s manufacturing sector from the current level of 16 percent of GDP to 25 percent in 5 years.

• To review all laws and regulations governing investments within 3 months, and instruments found outdated or obstructionist to be repealed.

So while we celebrate a new government today, it’s also time to watch over the new government of today to deliver on the promises that have been made. Their job begins as soon as the celebration ends.

Image Credits: Moneycontrol

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Topics: Recruitment, #Jobs

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