What will happen when 300 million more join the job queues by 2025?
Listen to the anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation brigade, and its members will bombard you with a series of uncomfortable questions. If indeed, there’s an employment crunch in India, why is the number of unemployed increasing each day? How’s it possible that the same India Inc. that was going ga-ga about the resource pool in India, is now cribbing about talent crunch? How is it that our science and other graduates look inferior to those available in other countries, including China?
Most experts of this ideology believe that it is wrong to talk about a general shortage of skilled workforce. Instead, they contend there is a paucity of particular skillsets. “Our studies show that there is a 30% oversupply in the diploma engineering segment, and the youth have been unable to find employment matching their education levels. As a result, a diploma holder is settling for an apprentice job, thereby pushing down his wages,” adds Ajeet K. Mathur, Director, Institute for Applied Manpower Research.
The problem in India is that there is no concrete data on supply and demand of labour in specific sectors. Agrees Mathur, “There is no proper mapping of the sector-wise skill shortages by any agency. As a result, we do not have the exact picture of the gravity of the problem at this moment.” Other experts think that some far-reaching changes are occurring in India, and that is changing the pattern of labour relations. For example, the 10th Plan is mostly considered to be one of a jobless phase. This implies that it’s not a matter of talent crunch, but a job crunch that has gripped India. “If we look at statistics, the jobs in the organised sector constituted 12% in the early 1990s. After liberalisation, they have shrunk to a mere 6%,” explains W. R. Vardharajan, CITU leader and a member of the Central Board of Trustees. This is further corroborated by Mathur, who feels that “private employment has created jobs but not sustainable work. Earlier, we talked about organised and unorganised workers, now the private sector has created another category, which, though falls in the protected category, is devoid of any means to enforce protection of their jobs.”
Listen to the anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation brigade, and its members will bombard you with a series of uncomfortable questions. If indeed, there’s an employment crunch in India, why is the number of unemployed increasing each day? How’s it possible that the same India Inc. that was going ga-ga about the resource pool in India, is now cribbing about talent crunch? How is it that our science and other graduates look inferior to those available in other countries, including China?
Most experts of this ideology believe that it is wrong to talk about a general shortage of skilled workforce. Instead, they contend there is a paucity of particular skillsets. “Our studies show that there is a 30% oversupply in the diploma engineering segment, and the youth have been unable to find employment matching their education levels. As a result, a diploma holder is settling for an apprentice job, thereby pushing down his wages,” adds Ajeet K. Mathur, Director, Institute for Applied Manpower Research.
The problem in India is that there is no concrete data on supply and demand of labour in specific sectors. Agrees Mathur, “There is no proper mapping of the sector-wise skill shortages by any agency. As a result, we do not have the exact picture of the gravity of the problem at this moment.” Other experts think that some far-reaching changes are occurring in India, and that is changing the pattern of labour relations. For example, the 10th Plan is mostly considered to be one of a jobless phase. This implies that it’s not a matter of talent crunch, but a job crunch that has gripped India. “If we look at statistics, the jobs in the organised sector constituted 12% in the early 1990s. After liberalisation, they have shrunk to a mere 6%,” explains W. R. Vardharajan, CITU leader and a member of the Central Board of Trustees. This is further corroborated by Mathur, who feels that “private employment has created jobs but not sustainable work. Earlier, we talked about organised and unorganised workers, now the private sector has created another category, which, though falls in the protected category, is devoid of any means to enforce protection of their jobs.”
In addition, technology is making a number of jobs redundant. A power plant that once required thousands of workers and huge townships to house their families, now can do with a few hundred people. In fact, there can a be stark distinction between the steel townships of, say, Steel Authority of India, a PSU that recruited in thousands, and Essar Steel, which has a modern plant that requires a few dozens to man it. So, if agriculture is not creating jobs, manufacturing isn’t doing it, and services only requires specific skillsets, what will happen to the unemployed in India?
Over the next two decades, the situation will be alarming as 300 million new entrants join the workforce by 2025. If the country continues to be gripped by the tentacles of jobless growth, there could be more civic disruptions in the country. Imagine a situation, where there are social riots, as unemployed take to the streets to demand their share of incomes and basic amenities. The other issue is that India’s population below the poverty line is higher than the figure for unemployed. This, say experts, indirectly implies that employment, wherever it happened, did not translate into reducing the households’ poverty.
There are many who hope to look beyond private sector to ensure adequate employment levels. “We are not missionaries for privatisation, but seek to advance the involvement of private sector in a meaningful way, which brings their energy, innovation, creativity and risk-sharing to the process of developing solutions to employability in disadvantaged communities. We believe that public-private participation model will bring about a radical transformation and be able to target jobs and job creation as part of the economic success in India,” says Roy Newey, International Development Director, A4e, a consultancy firm.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
Over the next two decades, the situation will be alarming as 300 million new entrants join the workforce by 2025. If the country continues to be gripped by the tentacles of jobless growth, there could be more civic disruptions in the country. Imagine a situation, where there are social riots, as unemployed take to the streets to demand their share of incomes and basic amenities. The other issue is that India’s population below the poverty line is higher than the figure for unemployed. This, say experts, indirectly implies that employment, wherever it happened, did not translate into reducing the households’ poverty.
There are many who hope to look beyond private sector to ensure adequate employment levels. “We are not missionaries for privatisation, but seek to advance the involvement of private sector in a meaningful way, which brings their energy, innovation, creativity and risk-sharing to the process of developing solutions to employability in disadvantaged communities. We believe that public-private participation model will bring about a radical transformation and be able to target jobs and job creation as part of the economic success in India,” says Roy Newey, International Development Director, A4e, a consultancy firm.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
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and embrace with open arms, the supreme vices of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy and pride... and whatever else, one and all could crave for. ‘If sin is what you must, Vegas will be the first!’ Knighted unofficially with the ‘Sin City’ moniker, desert haven Las Vegas – founded in 1905, the most populous city in Nevada state, USA (yet, with just a 0.5 million headcount!) – is but obviously the ‘gambling entertainment capital of the world’ (with due apologies to Macao, China)!
fast approaching maturity. According to experts, the PE investments in India totalled about $7.5 billion last year & are expected to expand by 40% this year. “The PE market will continue to do well even if returns come down in percentage terms” opines Shankar Narayanan, Managing Director, Carlyle India, (a part of Carlyle Group, the second largest buyout fund in the world). The increased interests in the Indian markets is reflected in the decision of the funds like the San Francisco Employee Retirement System (SFERS) – a company which manages $17 billion – to make more direct investments in India rather than through the America based PE Funds like Blackstone. As E. David Ellignton of SFERS says, “I find that in this market (Indian) in particular, it is very important to deal with local folks.” But the question confronting these investors is, are the valuations in the Indian markets too high for the PE markets to draw enough benefits? If this is the situation then what makes them look towards the Indian markets? “The PE Funds would surely like to invest in companies when their valuations in the capital markets are low, so that they are able to generate profits through the buyouts at appropriate time.” Plus, if you see, the PE Funds are gradually moving towards getting money from the public. Blackstone has already used the IPO route,” Alok Aggrawal, Principal with Sun Apollo, a PE Fund dedicated to real estate sector, told B&E. Such sentiments surely inform us that the real estate & infrastructure sector would continue to attract PE Funds.
blossomed into a colossal organisation, to become the second biggest rail network in the world. But yet, one and half centuries later, the great railway network remains overcrowded, vulnerable to security and poor service provider to the enormity of India’s goods and 1.1 billion population!
Assembly elections could begin. With BJP leadership able to mollify the reticent patriarch Keshubhai Patel from launching an open rebellion, Narendra Modi is set to return as Chief Minister for the third term. Even Modi’s most staunch critics like Vishwa Hindu Parishad General Secretary Dr. Pravin Togadia and Gandhian Chunnibhai Patel concede that nobody can stop Modi from returning to power now.
over $260 billion & control on over a trillion dollar economy, the Reserve Bank went through challenging phases this year, curbing & containing the country’s ‘fair weather friends’, the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). Till 26th Nov., this year, FIIs have already pumped in nearly $17 billion and affected country’s economic health & given sleepless nights to its monetary regulator, Reserve Bank of India.
anymore. Well, the statement does hold true, but only in case of the urban child. Major parts of India are yet see what a computer looks like. “In rural segment, and in many urban and semi-urban schools, the children do not have access to computers. Though the government has taken steps, I feel the effort is ill-planned. Often, the task has been left to private companies, who run computer classes for the children against fees,” confers Anupam Basu of IIT (Kharagpur). They charge fees, which many can’t afford. However, with initiatives by a few companies, NGOs, industry bodies and state governments, the situation has improved in certain places.
way we listen to music over the years. The transition from walkmans to CD players to MP3 players and to the latest iPods stands testimony to this miraculous growth. Digitisation of music has in fact given a new face to the Indian music industry, and has significantly enhanced its reach and potential across the board.
subsciber base, the domestic telecom industry, which currently runs on 2G platform, is further set to get a boost from all quarters with Indian policymakers allowing an open bid in its 3G space, with no limitations to foreign bids. As per a government official, “We have a 74% FDI limit in the telecom sector. Whether there is common auction or open auction, there will be no bar on foreign players. Either way, they will be allowed.” Though this open bid process will pose a challenge to many, a handful of players with Unified Access Services Licence (UASL) will find the battle for spectrum against ‘foreign powers’, easier.
Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. Various other regions are also represented in the organisation; countries like Venezuela, Indonesia and Nigeria are among major members as well. Thus, as a holistic approach towards understanding the oil crises spread across the planet, it is important to understand the composition of OPEC first. According to OPEC facts & figures, “The world’s Ultimately Recoverable Reserves (URR) is to continue to increase in the near future. Therefore, the real issue is not reserve availability, but timely deliverability and here enhanced cooperation and dialogue among all parties to ensure security of demand, as well as security of supply.” The report estimates that from 1995-2003, new discoveries had actually improved recoveries by almost 138 billion barrels. This was especially possible due to more advanced extraction techniques & management. By 2020, oil production is likely to cross 1600 billion barrels with reserves close to 3400 billion barrels! On the basis of OEPC’s own data, it can be logically concluded that the oil price dilemma is not necessarily dependent on consumption alone. Various analysts have contended that OPEC deliberately controls production in order to safeguard its own interests in order to maintain a high price point.
Peter Mukreaja’s dreamchild INX media and one can’t help but bite the tongue. A good 55% stake in the company is held by firms like Temasek Holdings, New Silk Route Partners, New Vernon Private Equity Fund, Employee sweat equity, et al. A cursory glance at NDTV Networks’ shareholding pattern and you find companies like Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, CSFB and eight others jointly holding as much as 24% stake in it. Ashmore Investment Management owns 49% stake in Digicable Network. Then again, what’s common among companies like B.A.G. Infotainment, Times Innovative Media, Hathway cable, UFO Moviez and India TV, besides the fact that they operate in the media & entertainment space. They all have private equity (PE) firms’ expressing their newly found love for them, by buying stakes in these companies.