Source: TH
Context:
India’s employment challenge has re-emerged as a national policy priority as experts from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) urged the government to create a Unified National Employment Framework (NEF). The proposal aims to synchronize skilling, industrial, and labour policies to address job–skill mismatches and ensure inclusive growth amid rapid economic and technological changes.
Key Trends in Employment:
- Demographic Advantage:
- India is expected to add 133 million workers by 2050, forming 18% of the global workforce.
- The demographic window will peak by 2043, demanding urgent job creation strategies.
- Rise of Informal and Gig Sectors:
- Gig economy jobs projected to reach 9 crore by 2030, but most lack social security and formal benefits.
- Urban Job Distress:
- Automation and post-pandemic migration have widened rural–urban employment gaps.
- Low Female Participation:
- Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR): below 35% (PLFS 2024) despite growing education levels.
Need for a Unified Employment Framework:
- Fragmented Schemes: Existing job, skill, and welfare programmes operate in silos, reducing efficiency.
- Demographic Urgency: Delay in reforms may erode the demographic dividend opportunity.
- Economic Inclusivity: A unified policy can ensure balanced, gender-sensitive, and tech-driven employment.
- Policy Coherence: Aligns trade, industrial, and labour policies toward measurable job outcomes.
Major Government Initiatives (Ongoing):
- Skill India Mission & PMKVY:
- Target to skill 40 crore youth through short-term and industry-oriented courses.
- National Career Service (NCS) Portal:
- A digital employment exchange linking job seekers, employers, and counsellors.
- Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme:
- Promotes manufacturing-led employment via performance-based sectoral incentives.
- Labour Codes (2020):
- Consolidated 29 labour laws into 4 codes for ease of compliance and enhanced worker protection.
- Gig and Platform Worker Schemes:
- Expanding social security coverage to informal and gig sector workers.
Way Forward:
- Integrated National Employment Policy:
- Merge central and state employment programmes into a coordinated framework.
- MSME and Gig Worker Focus:
- Provide credit access, digital enablement, and safety nets for these job-rich sectors.
- Skill–Industry Alignment:
- Reform higher education and vocational training to match AI, robotics, and green industry demands.
- Inclusive Job Creation:
- Introduce urban employment guarantees and women-centric job incentives.
- Real-Time Labour Data:
- Create a Unified Labour Observatory for real-time monitoring of workforce dynamics.
