THE CONTEXT: India’s ambitious ₹2 lakh crore employment package aimed at skilling and creating job opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over five years, highlighting the need for sustainable mass employment with dignity. There is a gross disparity in employment conditions across states, with Tamil Nadu and Kerala showing better human development indicators and higher per capita consumption compared to states like Odisha.
MORE ABOUT THE SCHEME:
Employment-Linked Incentive Schemes
Scheme A: First-Time Employment Support
- Objective: Encourage first-time employment and support new entrants in the workforce.
- Benefits: Provides a one-month wage subsidy, capped at ₹15,000, paid in three installments. This scheme is expected to benefit around 210 lakh youth annually.
- Eligibility: Applicable to all sectors for individuals newly entering the workforce with a salary less than ₹1 lakh per month. Employees must be registered with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
Scheme B: Job Creation in Manufacturing
- Objective: Boost job creation in the manufacturing sector by incentivizing employers to hire new employees.
- Benefits: Offers incentives to both employees and employers based on EPFO contributions, with a focus on the first four years of employment. The scheme aims to benefit 30 lakh youth.
- Eligibility: Employers must have a three-year track record of EPFO contributions and hire a specified number of new employees.
Scheme C: Employer Support and Employment Generation
- Objective: Encourage employers to hire additional employees across all sectors.
- Benefits: The government will reimburse up to ₹3,000 per month for two years towards EPFO contributions for each additional employee hired. This scheme targets 50 lakh beneficiaries.
- Eligibility: Applicable to employers who increase employment above the baseline with new employees earning up to ₹1 lakh per month.
Centrally Sponsored Skilling Scheme
- Objective: Enhance skills and employability of youth across the country.
- Benefits: Aims to skill 20 lakh youth over five years. Additionally, 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) will be upgraded to improve infrastructure and training facilities.
Internship Scheme in Top Companies
- Objective: Provide valuable work experience and exposure to top companies for youth.
- Benefits: Plans to place 1 crore youth in internships in 500 top companies over five years. Internships include a monthly allowance of ₹5,000 and a one-time assistance of ₹6,000.
ISSUES FACED BY THE YOUTH BEFORE AND AFTER THE EMPLOYMENT:
- Skill Mismatch and Gaps: Many graduates face a skills gap, particularly in states like Tamil Nadu, where the workforce is educated but lacks specific vocational skills needed by industries.
- Limited Long-term Placement: Short-duration skill programs often result in low long-term placement rates due to inadequate wages that do not support a dignified life in urban areas.
- Low Wages: The availability of unlimited unskilled labor often leads to a “race to the bottom” in wages. The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2019-20 highlighted that earning ₹25,000 a month places a worker in the top 10% of wage earners, indicating that many jobs do not pay enough for a dignified life.
- Job Quality and Security: The push for formalization of the workforce through schemes like those implemented by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) aims to improve job security and quality, yet challenges remain in ensuring these jobs provide adequate wages and benefits.
WAYS AND MEANS TO REALIZE THE SUSTAINABLE MASS EMPLOYMENT WITH DIGNITY
- Decentralized Skilling Needs Assessment: Engage local communities through gram sabhas and basti samitis to identify and address skilling needs. This grassroots approach ensures that skill development is aligned with local employment Creating a register of those seeking employment or self-employment and developing personalized plans with professionals at the cluster level can lead to transformational outcomes.
- Convergence of Development Initiatives: Integrate education, health, skills, nutrition, and employment initiatives at the local level, especially through women’s collectives, to ensure community accountability and effective quality outcomes. States with better human development indicators, such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, show higher monthly per capita consumption, highlighting the benefits of such integration.
- Vocational Education Integration: Introduce vocational courses alongside traditional undergraduate programs to improve employability. This has been implemented in some colleges, offering courses like tourist guide and counselor certifications. Colleges in Mumbai provide certificate courses alongside graduation programs.
- Standardization of Health-Care Courses: Standardize nursing and allied health-care courses to meet international standards, addressing the uneven quality of institutions and curricula. There is a high demand for nurses and health paramedics both domestically and internationally.
- Community-Based Caregiver Programs: Develop community cadres of caregivers to run crèches universally, allowing women to work without fear. This can be modeled after the Community Resource Persons of the Rural Livelihood Mission. Community cadres can engage in multiple livelihoods, including agriculture and retail.
- Investment in Technical Education: Enhance infrastructure and autonomy in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics, making them hubs for skill development. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have leveraged large capacities in these institutions to support manufacturing growth.
- Enterprise and Start-Up Skills in Schools: Introduce technology and enterprise education in high schools to foster innovation and entrepreneurship from an early age. Schools can integrate business processes and innovation into their regular curriculum.
- Industry-Academia Apprenticeship Models: Develop apprenticeship models with industry to ensure that skilling programs are relevant and effective, sharing costs and responsibilities between the government and employers.
- Support for Women-Led Enterprises: Facilitate working capital loans for women-led enterprises to enable scaling, using technology to assist in credit access. The Start-Up Village Enterprise Programme under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission highlights the importance of comprehensive support for first-generation entrepreneurs.
- Universal Skill Accreditation: Accreditation Program: Implement a universal skill accreditation program for skill providers, co-sponsored by the state and industry, to ensure quality and relevance.
- Utilization of MGNREGA Funds: Focus MGNREGA funds on water-scarce and deprived areas, emphasizing skills that enhance productivity and provide dignified wages. Individual beneficiary schemes under MGNREGA can support livelihood security through initiatives like animal sheds and irrigation wells.
- Scaled Apprenticeships: Expand apprenticeship programs to facilitate skill acquisition and ensure wages of dignity upon completion. Government subsidies for employers should be contingent on providing dignified wages post-apprenticeship.
THE CONCLUSION:
To achieve sustainable mass employment with dignity, India must focus on community-driven initiatives, integrate education with vocational training, and enhance public goods and infrastructure. These efforts, combined with industry collaboration and financial support for enterprises, can lead to increased productivity and improved quality of life for workers.
UPSC PAST YEAR QUESTION:
Q. Skill development programs have succeeded in increasing human resources supply to various sectors. In the context of the statement analyze the linkages between education, skill and employment. 2023
MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:
Q. Critically examine the key policy initiatives needed to address India’s employment challenges, with special focus on skilling, education, and community-driven solutions.
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