Background:

• Mass employment with dignity requires productivity increases.
• The Budget and the Economic Survey had nudged the private sector to create jobs, it must be understood that the state also has a role in assuring quality jobs to the needy.
• In this situation, these measures are recommended as a way to create quality jobs.

Sustainable Measures to address unemployment:

• Decentralised Community Action for employment: Engage local communities through gram sabhas in rural areas and basti samitis in urban areas to identify employment and self-employment needs.
  • Create registers of job seekers and develop personalised plans for skill development and employment in partnership with professionals at the local level.
  • Provide untied funds to communities to allow flexible and effective use of resources in addressing local needs.
  • Universal Crèches: Establish community-based caregiver cadres to run crèches, enabling more women to join the workforce.
  • Support for Women: Ensure local governments and women’s collectives provide support and funding for these caregivers.
• Convergence of Human Development Initiatives: Combine efforts in education, health, nutrition, and employment at the local government level, particularly involving women’s collectives.
• Mandatory Vocational Courses: Introduce vocational courses alongside undergraduate programs in all colleges to enhance employability.
• Standardisation of Courses: Standardise nursing and allied healthcare courses across states to meet international benchmarks.
• Investment in Technical Institutions: Invest in upgrading infrastructure and autonomy in ITIs, polytechnics, and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs).
  • Develop these institutions as hubs for feeder schools, with a focus on states/districts lacking vocational education infrastructure.
• Industry Collaboration for Apprenticeships: Implement a co-sharing model where both the government and industry fund apprenticeships, ensuring that the industry has a stake in skill development.
  • Rigorous Accreditation: Start a universal accreditation program for skill providers, with co-sponsorship from the state and industry for candidate training.
• Support for Women-Led Enterprises: Improve access to working capital loans for women-led and first-generation enterprises, with a focus on scaling these businesses.
  • Use technology to create comprehensive credit histories and facilitate larger-scale lending to women entrepreneurs.
• Enhanced MGNREGA Utilisation: Direct 70% of MGNREGA funds to 2,500 water-scarce and highly deprived blocks, emphasising livelihood security through income-generating projects.
  • Focus on improving skills for MGNREGA workers to enhance their productivity and ensure better wage rates.

Conclusion:

• Substantial implementation of these measures can help to create a higher order economy, with higher productivity and a higher quality of lives for workmen.