CEA refers to 1970s movie to hint there’s not much the govt can do to alleviate unemployment

India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran used a 1971 film by Cho Ramaswamy "Mohammed-Bin-Tughlaq" as an allusion to hint there was not much the government could do alone to alleviate unemployment. He was speaking at the launch of India Employment Report 2024 by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The CEA said: "I think there is an element of truth in what the protagonist said in the movie."

Nageswaran said while government employment is indispensable in certain sectors, the broader solution lies in collaborative efforts between the private sector and state governments.

"I agree that the government can and must hire in some areas," he said. Nevertheless, the CEA said people need to break free from this mindset that government intervention is the panacea for all socio-economic challenges.

"In the normal world, it is the commercial sector, those who engage in for-profit activity, that needs to do the hiring," Nageswaran said.

Pointing out that labour and employment issues fall within the concurrent list, the CEA emphasised the importance of state-level initiatives in tackling unemployment.

"It is not very productive for farmers and current government officials, international bodies and think tanks to get together and discuss and conclude that the government should do more. Industry and academia should talk more and often between themselves on how to be relevant to each others' needs and expectations," he said.

According to the India Employment Report 2024, jointly released by the ILO and the Institute of Human Development (IHD), nearly 83% of the unemployed workforce in India comprises youth. Moreover, the proportion of young individuals with secondary education or above among the total unemployed youth has nearly doubled, rising from 35.2% in 2000 to 65.7% in 2022.

The ILO said India is poised to reap a demographic dividend but challenges related to youth unemployment persist. The report highlighted that in 2021, India's youth comprised 27% of the population, which is projected to decline to 21% by 2036. It said that, annually, 7-8 million youth enter the workforce, however, their employment quality lags that of adults, with many engaged in vulnerable or informal sectors. Despite wage increases with age, youth consistently earn less than adults across all employment types, indicating poor working conditions overall.