Gopal Krishna Agarwal is the national spokesperson of the BJP on economic affairs. He interacted with Himani Chandna on email
The latest data available on job creation between January-December 2015 said that just 1.35 lakh jobs were created, posting a fall of nearly 70 per cent. Are there any latest numbers on job creation in 2016?Statistical job data, which shows slow down, only pertains to government and private sector jobs. It does not include self-employment and unorganised sector figures. There is a limit to which government jobs can be created. We have to focus on entrepreneurship and self-employment. Number of jobs created is really a big challenge. With the world economy slowing down and exports falling across the globe, sectors which were primarily dependent on international trade have seen some negative impact. But now exports have also started picking up. India is one of the bright spots and is one of the fastest growing economies in the the world.
What kind of challenges are you facing in job creation? And what is the goverment doing to overcome them? The agriculture sector which is known to employ about 60 per cent of our population and contributes only 13 per cent to GDP for so many years shows under employment. Our focus is to provide alternative employment avenues to farmers. Our commitment to double farmers income by 2022 will give very good results. We have come out with model lease agreement so that land-less labours in rural areas can get land on lease for cultivation. Digitisation of land records will also improve the situation in rural areas.
By when do you expect the job market to revive?Private sector investments will not pick up untill demand is created in the economy. Government is focusing on infrastructure investment… Digital India also aims on improved connectivity. We expect to see good results by 2019.
Once this cycle kicks in, private sector will start growing. We hope private investment to pick up in 2017-18.
Which sectors are your priority?Manufacturing sector, specifically unorganised, and Medium, Small and Micro Enterprise are the main focus areas. Double-digit growth in agriculture sector is must for overall economic health of the country. Labour reforms will also be a focus area, so that we have better and free markets for jobs.
How will you rate the performance of initiatives such as ‘Make In India’ in terms of churning jobs?‘Make in India’ is focusing on increasing manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP from the present 15 per cent to 25 per cent. This will create many new jobs.
A large population of the country, mostly young, was highly unskilled and not employable. Skill India is a major initiative to skill them through tool room trainings from 900 centres across India giving diploma courses. Even private sector is being encouraged to take up ITI’s for imparting vocational education.
Youth needs handholding for Start Ups. They are being given credit facilities through Mudra Loan Yojna, online marketing support, technological innovation and research facilities and all kinds of guidance.
Stand Up India has specific targets to give entrepreneurship loans to women and backward class people from different bank branches in the country.
