India's rapid economic progress over the past two decades masks its abysmal performance on social indicators.
'Is India going to miss some more of its potential demographic dividend?' 'If so, it would be for two reasons: The demographic dividend can be fully exploited only if the people in the working age are actually working.' 'And second, if those working have proper education and skills, making them productive in the workplace.' 'On both counts, the country has fallen short,' points out T N Ninan.
Fresh formal job creation declined sequentially for a third straight month in February to fall to a 21-month low, signaling pressure in the employment market. These are the findings from the latest payroll data released by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Thursday. The number of new monthly subscribers under the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) declined 10 per cent sequentially to 738,052 in February from 819,659 in January.
Global rating agency Fitch on Thursday affirmed India's 'BBB-' rating with a stable outlook on strong growth outlook and fiscal credibility. Fitch said India is set to remain among the fastest-growing sovereigns globally with GDP growth of 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal year and 6.5 per cent in FY26, down from 8.2 per cent in FY24. "Fitch Ratings has affirmed India's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB-' with a Stable Outlook," the global rating agency said in a statement.
'Because the same stupid questions are repeated year after year when an exam should provoke the students to think and not ask repetitive questions.' 'So, what do coaching institutes do? They teach students to memorise these questions and answers without understanding the subject.'
'India is about 50 years behind China in the quest to eliminate illiteracy. At this point of time, about a third of India's working age population has never been to school and on current trajectories, even 20 years from now, about almost a fifth of India's working age population will not ever have had any formal education -- not even one year of schooling.'
Stalin's comments came two days after Naidu said there was a need to manage the population in Andhra Pradesh given there will be an increase in the aging population.
India has surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, shows the latest United Nations data, even as UN projections estimate that the country's population is expected to grow for the next three decades after which it will begin declining.
With over 50 per cent of its current population under 25 years of age, India's great demographic "dividend" needs to change a few habits-immediately -- or it may be too late.
Officials have said an absence of drainage system and safety measures, and use of basement for commercial activities in violation of norms led to the death of three civil services aspirants at the coaching centre.
The report highlights that India's population in 2036 is expected to be more feminine compared to the 2011 population, as reflected in the sex ratio which is projected to increase from 943 in 2011 to 952 by 2036, highlighting a positive trend in gender equality.
'Over the next 20 years, we would be adding almost 10 million people to the workforce every year!' 'And we won't be able to give employment to even 2 million out of the 10 million every year.' 'Don't forget, it keeps adding every year.'
Former Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan said India will still remain a lower middle country if the potential growth rate remains at 6 per cent annually without any rise in population by 2047 (Amrit Kaal) and will be reaching the end of the demographic dividend by then. Speaking at a programme organised by Manthanon on Saturday, the economist said if the country does not grow faster, it will grow older (demographically) before it gets richer, which means there is the burden of an aging population to deal with also at that point. Rajan said the GDP growth in India for the past two quarters was in the region of 7.5 per cent and if one looks at the labor force participation, it is very low and when it comes to female participation, "it is the lowest in the G20".
Given the high priority accorded to the manufacturing sector, several policy initiatives around the theme of Atmanirbhar Bharat have been set in motion to address its competitiveness and growth. Some notable examples include the PLI scheme and the employment-linked incentive scheme announced in the recent Union Budget. The Budget also announced the setting up of 12 industrial parks under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP).
With 7 per cent economic growth, India is not creating enough jobs as reflected by the number of applicants for vacant posts in some states, Reserve Bank's former governor Raghuram Rajan said and suggested the government needs to focus on promoting labour-intensive industries to generate employment. Rajan further said some Indians, especially those at upper level, are comfortable and have high incomes, but consumption growth from the lower half of the country has still not recovered to pre-pandemic level.
Under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, close to 1 million apprentices will be trained in FY24.
'While investors need to be prepared for making some losses, they should not lose big money chasing euphoria amid fear of missing out.'
He also pointed out the high sums earned by the coaching centres leading to the commercialisation of education.
'Because of the failure of the UPA era (2004-14), we will add another 10 crore by 2025...total 20 crore in the 21-45 age group with low skills, low education.'
Over 100 Indian institutions offer semiconductor design curricula, but hardly any of them focuses on manufacturing and process technology, a top official from global memory and storage major Micron Technology said on Thursday. There is significant global demand for such chip engineers, its president and chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra said at the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar. "While more than 100 Indian institutions provide a semiconductor design curriculum, hardly any focus on semiconductor manufacturing and process technology.
Without adequate growth of employment opportunities, the labour supply bulge could spawn major problems of unemployment, underemployment and low incomes.
Unemployment rate in the country has zoomed to a high of 8.3 per cent in December, the highest in 2022, according to data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The unemployment rate during November was at 8 per cent, while in September it was the lowest at 6.43 per cent and was at the second highest level during the year at 8.28 per cent in August, the CMIE data stated. While the urban unemployment rate was at 10 per cent during the last month of 2022, rural joblessness stood at 7.5 per cent during December.
'India has a skill shortage of 56%.' 'This is a very interesting paradox -- the unemployment rate is 6% to 7%, and at the same time 20% of those qualified are unemployed.'
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who is heading the five-judge constitution bench which is hearing the matter, also touched upon the notion that only the very highly educated or elitist want fewer children.
The edtech major promised a learning revolution, offering hope to millions of under-educated youth. Now, those dreams are shattered, observes Devangshu Datta.
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Female labour force participation in India is lower than many other EM economies.
Megha Aggarwal of LEAP is working hard to provide Indian students with both vocation and life skills to make them employable.
China's population growth has been slowing since 2016 as the high cost of raising children, a greater pursuit of individualism and a diversified lifestyle dampen enthusiasm to start a family.
Karnam Malleswari's medal at Sydney and the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De! India changed the attitude of the people towards women taking up sports as a career, believes badminton ace Aparna Popat.
The youth have to turn into entrepreneurs if India's massive demographic dividend is to be taken advantage of: Smriti Irani.
Rediff.com launches a weekly series that will provide insights into how Young India lives. We will speak to Young Indians across the country about how they earn, spend and save, their ambitions, their dreams, and their goals.
A critical step in this direction would be the abolishment of service tax on micro-insurance in order to encourage and increase penetration of insurance.
China's emergence as a manufacturing hub is due to a combination of favourable circumstances and astute policies; India should adopt a strategy that is in consonance with its own realities.
If economic pundits and analysts are to believe, India's growth story presents a rosy picture and it is destined to be a significant economic power soon.
There's a lot of emphasis on job placements, but are B-schools being monitored for quality at all, asks Amit Kapoor
This was a crucial year for India. Its economy is doing fairly well, but it continues to suffer from a non-existent long-term agenda. The latter may well result in India seizing defeat from the jaws of victory: Despite the 'demographic dividend', the lack of a compelling 'idea of India' may well cause it to flounder aimlessly, if not disintegrate into a million pointless mutinies. Events in 2009 would have sown the seeds of either success or failure.
Experts recommend awaiting the findings of the 2021 Census, which is yet to be conducted, before introducing population control policies.
I will tell you one thing, to be the Foreign Minister of Modi government is also a great strength, Jaishankar said.
The average age of the 125-billion strong Indian population will be 29 years in 2020, even younger than China and the US.
Chanda Kochhar said a large section of youth, mainly underprivileged have little access to training that can increase their employability.
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