“When the UPA was in power, they said Muslims had the first right to the country’s wealth. This means they collect wealth and distribute it to whom.People with more children, intruders– Evidence 1. The Prime Minister of India attended an election rally on April 21, 2024.
“A woman’s Mangalsutra is not only its price, but also the symbol of all her dreams…and “they” will snatch it away– Evidence 2. The Prime Minister of India attended the same election rally.
“Congress is allied with all those who admire Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb– Evidence 3. The Prime Minister of India attended an election rally on April 28, 2024.
At what level has the debate regarding the 2024 Indian elections sunk? Is it possible that it will fall further in May? Amid all this manic rhubarb, this columnist feels he wants to use a four-letter word. Now let’s use it. job.
A preliminary poll by a prominent think tank found that three out of five respondents believed unemployment was the most important issue in the election. But the star campaigners of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and their followers are in diversionary mode, competing for Mughals, Muslims, Mangalsutra, Mutton and Nehru. If you’re reading this column on Labor Day (May 1), here are seven reasons why party leaders seeking a third term will never say the word “JOBS.”
- According to data extracted from the Reserve Bank of India’s monthly bulletin, the unemployment rate was above 8% in 2023. From October 2023 to December 2023, one of his two in the age group of 20 to 24 was unemployed. Four out of ten graduates are unemployed. India’s youth account for four out of five unemployed people.
- Currently, only one in five Indians is employed in manufacturing or IT services, and two in five are still employed in agriculture. The share of manufacturing, which could have created jobs for young people, has shrunk to 13% of total output. In China it is 28%.
- According to the Labor Department, agricultural workers earn a daily wage of just 378 rupees. The daily wage for non-agricultural workers is Rs 377, while the daily wage for construction workers is Rs 422. The real wages of female workers in 2023 were even lower than the real wages of male workers in 2015.
- According to World Bank data, in 2021, there were 63 million people who earned less than Rs 308 per day and 18 million people who earned less than Rs 180 per day. India has the highest number of ‘zero-fed’ children in the world, with 670 million of them going an entire day without food.
- We averaged the numbers for men and women from 2015 to 2023. The real income of agricultural workers increased by Rs 3 per year and for construction workers by Rs 2 per year. For non-agricultural workers, the increase is only 1 rupee per year.
- According to data from the International Labor Organization, real wages grew by 6% from 2006 to 2013. Between 2014 and 2021, it was just 1.4%.
- Household savings will account for 5.1% of GDP in 2022-23, the lowest level in 50 years. Meanwhile, household assets fell from 15% to 11% of GDP. Debt increased from 4% to 6% of GDP from 2020-21 to 2022-23. Simply put, families had less money to save, owned fewer valuables, and took on more debt than the previous year.
The informal sector generates over 80% of employment in India. Experts have suggested setting up a special committee to strengthen this area. Long-term policies at the national level must be implemented to improve wages, healthy working conditions, access to formal credit, and labor norms for everyone working in this sector.
Next is the gig economy. We need to set up strong social security programs tailored for gig workers, providing essential benefits such as social security, including health insurance and accident insurance, and worker rights protections. To support gig workers during emergencies and slow periods, you need to set up a resiliency corpus.
There are still several weeks left in the election campaign. Will the four-letter word ‘JOBS’ appear in the BJP’s election speeches? Or will there be more rhetoric surrounding another of his four-letter words: “HATE”?
Additional research: Dheemunt Jain, Ayashman Dey
(Derek O’Brien MP, who heads the Trinamool Congress in Rajya Sabha)
Disclaimer: These are the author’s personal opinions.
