Economists and small industrialists say the conditions and procedures built into these schemes may create obstacles for effective implementation. “There is a bigger structural reason why the economy is not able to create jobs, and that is due to insufficient demand, caused by low consumption… and the lack of private investment. The need is to create formal jobs to keep up with the pace of the supply, which is not happening, as evidenced by the fact that the proportion of salaried workers has actually dropped slightly over the last five years. What else is needed to create jobs? If the urgent requirement is to stimulate demand by increasing consumption, another step could be to raise wages in MGNREGA, the rural jobs scheme, and create a similar employment guarantee scheme for urban workers, says Mr. Roychowdhury.

Source: The Hindu July 28, 2024 15:03 UTC