India’s unemployment rate rises to 7.7% in December: CMIE

Back in 2013, at the height of his Lok Sabha campaign, Narendra Modi, then BJP’s prime-ministerial candidate, swore at a rally in Agra that his government — if elected to power — would create 1 crore jobs annually. Barely four years later, the reality check should come as a cold shower. The country’s unemployment rate has risen to a five-year high of 5 per cent in 2015-16, according to the latest annual household survey on employment conducted by labour bureau.

The steady deterioration of the economy under the current PM’s team from the fairly stable position bequeathed to him by our government in 2014 has not escaped the notice of commentators. As per labour bureau figures, India added just 1.35 lakh jobs in eight labour-intensive sectors in 2015, compared to the 9.3 lakh jobs that were created in 2011.

And it is an established fact former PM Manmohan Singh’s tenure saw the most successful implementation of the anti-poverty programme with the highest number of people exiting poverty. Add to that the manufacturing jobs created were at an all-time high.

In contrast, the Modi government’s efforts at job creation, despite its many programmes, are floundering. Make in India has remained sluggish due to the failure to generate investment in manufacturing. The parliamentary standing committee of commerce indicated that “the manufacturing sector has grown only by an average of 1.6 per cent in the last 5 years till 2015-16”.

Six out of India’s 10 states with the highest unemployment rate are either ruled by the BJP or it is an alliance partner with regional parties

When Demonetisation deflated economic growth by finishing off the unorganised sector, the BJP had cited low retail inflation as a mark of economic stability. Even after a hastily implemented GST regime further derailed the growth engine, this was cited again as a mark of the Narendra Modi government’s control over the economic situation.

Back in 2013, at the height of his Lok Sabha campaign, Narendra Modi, then BJP’s prime-ministerial candidate, swore at a rally in Agra that his government — if elected to power — would create 1 crore jobs annually. Barely four years later, the reality check should come as a cold shower. The country’s unemployment rate has risen to a five-year high of 5 per cent in 2015-16, according to the latest annual household survey on employment conducted by labour bureau.

The steady deterioration of the economy under the current PM’s team from the fairly stable position bequeathed to him by our government in 2014 has not escaped the notice of commentators. As per labour bureau figures, India added just 1.35 lakh jobs in eight labour-intensive sectors in 2015, compared to the 9.3 lakh jobs that were created in 2011.

And it is an established fact former PM Manmohan Singh’s tenure saw the most successful implementation of the anti-poverty programme with the highest number of people exiting poverty. Add to that the manufacturing jobs created were at an all-time high.

In contrast, the Modi government’s efforts at job creation, despite its many programmes, are floundering. Make in India has remained sluggish due to the failure to generate investment in manufacturing. The parliamentary standing committee of commerce indicated that “the manufacturing sector has grown only by an average of 1.6 per cent in the last 5 years till 2015-16”.

India’s unemployment rate rises to 7.7% in December: CMIE

Six out of India’s 10 states with the highest unemployment rate are either ruled by the BJP or it is an alliance partner with regional parties

When Demonetisation deflated economic growth by finishing off the unorganised sector, the BJP had cited low retail inflation as a mark of economic stability. Even after a hastily implemented GST regime further derailed the growth engine, this was cited again as a mark of the Narendra Modi government’s control over the economic situation.

“Banks are in trouble and so is the GDP. Inflation was never so high, nor was unemployment. The morale of the public is crumbling and social justice is being crushed every day. IS INDIA MOVING TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT OR DESTRUCTION ?