New Delhi sources have stated that PM Narendra Modi had swept to power three years ago promising India’s poor and middle classes he would restore their "dignity" after years of swelling inequality, with job creation central to his pitch. But now, the jobs market has been slugged by last November’s shock cash ban and July’s imposition of a goods and services tax.
Currently India is set to see a further 30% to 40% reduction of jobs in the manufacturing sector compared with last year. According to Team Lease Services Ltd one of the country’s biggest recruitment firm, other surveys aren’t quite so bleak, they also suggest Modi is a long way from creating the 10 million jobs a year needed to keep up with his young and rapidly expanding workforce. Moreover the opposition in disarray since losing to Modi is dialing up its criticism as it eyes elections due in 2019.
Meanwhile another recent report underscores the
magnitude of Modi’s challenge to boost employment. India ranks 103 out of 130
countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Human Capital Report 2017,
published Sept. 13. Its youth literacy rate is 89%, well behind other leading
emerging markets, and it has the world’s largest employment gender gaps.
