Agro-processing, IT and retail sectors are likely to receive fresh incentives from the government in the coming days on the lines of the package given to the textile and apparel sectors on June, 23th 2016.

Sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the ministries concerned to give a special thrust to these sectors, given their potential to generate millions of jobs.

In a recent meeting with different ministries and NITI Aayog, Modi also directed the finance ministry to consider giving additional fiscal and non-fiscal benefits to these employment-intensive sectors.

Though job creation has been one of the priority areas for the BJP-led NDA government, many analysts feel that its performance so far on this front has been less than satisfactory. Employment generation in eight select sectors had fallen to its six-year low in 2015.

The labour bureau data also revealed that the October-December period of 2015 was the worst fourth quarter in the last seven years in terms of employment generation.

This is despite the fact that with 7.6% growth in the last fiscal, India is now the fastest growing major economy in the world.

Unemployment is one of the major areas of concern for the current dispensation. The focus on creating employment thus figures prominently on its agenda — be it through opening up of the economy or by way of proposed labour reforms. Various initiatives to skill people and make them job-ready and creating platforms for job-seekers and employers’ interface have already been taken.

India had around 47.41 crore workforce in 2011-12. Over 90% of them are in the so-called un-organised sector, which includes tiny industrial units and trading outfits besides household workers.

The government plans to bring all working citizens under a mandatory social security coverage in phases. Attempts are being made to bring all workers from the informal sector to formal sectors so as ensure dignity of labour.

Sources said while NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya stressed the need for focusing on creating large industries to tide over the unemployment crisis, the finance minister, however, felt that overall manufacturing growth through big, large and small-scale industries was the key to achieve the desired goal.

The government hopes the manufacturing sector to contribute an additional 100 million jobs by 2022. Roughly, around 10 million youth join the workforce in India every year.

Source: The Financial Express

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