'Not Just Quantity, There is Also a Serious Crisis of Quality of Employees in Union Govt'

India's youth have faced employment shortages for several decades. However, data suggests that the problem has assumed the proportions of a crisis in the past 10 years. Youth unemployment rates were about 6% for 15-29-year-olds in 2011-12 (National Sample Survey Office, Employment and Unemployment Survey).

- SANTOSH MEHROTRA

However, that rate had in 2017-18, already reached 18% on a much higher population of youth (in that same age group). This was the highest unemployment rate India had experienced in 45 years of data collection through labour force surveys. According to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) study, 83% of India's unemployed are accounted for by youth.

There is some evidence in recent years that the attraction of government jobs has only increased, just as the number of non-farm jobs being created in the private sector began to grow more slowly in the past decade.

Evidence from the NSSO indicates that non-farm jobs were growing at the rate of roughly 7.5mn new jobs per annum between 2004 and 2014. This is not surprising, given that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth was at an unprecedented 7.8% per annum over that period. However, the GDP growth rate fell over the past 10 years to an average of 5.8% per annum. Naturally fewer jobs are being created.

Public vs Private

In addition, the specific differences within organised sector jobs between the private and public sectors have always been significant: assured health benefits in the public sector, which may or may not be available to all private regular jobs. Second, the security of tenure is an added benefit in the public sector. Third, the prospect of a lifelong pension after retirement is the biggest difference.

The Indian government has over 40 lakh sanctioned posts, with more than 30 lakh employees and over 9.64 lakh posts currently vacant. This information was revealed in Parliament during the monsoon session of 2023. The Seventh Central Pay Commission has made recommendations that will apply to 33 lakh central government employees, in addition to 14 lakh armed forces and 52 lakh pensioners.