January 2025

3 min read

January 2025

Ladli Bahin costlier than DRDO and ISRO

  • The annual budget of Maharashtra's Ladli Bahin Yojana is 46,000 crores.
  • The budget of DRDO is 24,000 crores and that of ISRO is 13,000 crores.

Budget of schemes

  • The budget of Kisaan Sammaan Yojana is 60,000 crores,
  • Free ration budget is 11,80,000 crores over five years.
  • Similar schemes Chulbuli Nanand, Chidchidi Fufi Yojana, whose combined budgets surpass the union budgets for health, education and other critical sectors.

7.9% GDP growth in 2004-2014

During India’s period of 7.9 per cent annual GDP growth between 2004 and 2014 (despite a global economic crisis in 2008), around 75 lakh non-farm jobs were created every year on average. 

Needs at least 8% growth to generate sufficient non farm jobs

Ahead of its demographic dividend ending (before 2040), India needs a consistent annual GDP growth of at least 8 per cent to generate sufficient non-farm jobs for its young population. However, no major projection (other than Bloomberg) puts India’s 2023-2030 growth rate at anywhere close to 8%. Other projections for the near future, including OECD and IMF, are generally in the 6-6.5% range.

Highest unemployment rate since 45 years in 2017-18

  • According to Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, overall unemployment in India touched 6.1% in 2017-18.
  • This was the highest unemployment rate experienced by India since labour force surveys began 45 years earlier.
  • Even in 2022-23, I have estimated it was 14%, more than double its 2012 level.
  • PLFS data shows that post 2013, the creation of new non-farm jobs fell from 75 lakh per annum to just 29 lakh in 2019.
  • 60 million city workers returned to agriculture between 2020 and 2022-23, shows PLFS data. This pushed agriculture’s share of employment from 42 to 46%, during lockdown.
  • Agriculture sector employing 42 per cent of India’s workforce but contributing only 15% to GDP (2020)

Increase in WPR only in papers

Street vendor who sells pakoras may be helped by the free labour of his wife and children, but their work is still included in the WPR numbers.

Female working in fields with family members, though not paid, still counted as workers, emerging in the rise of Workers Population Rate (WPR).

This shows an increase in the female labour participation rate (FLPR).

CMIE survey, according to international standards

CMIE survey, which adheres to international standards and excludes unpaid family labour, estimates that the actual unemployment rate is 10 per cent as of October 2023.

Focus on ancillary services

Numerous ancillary services associated with airlines, railways, tourism, auto services, and banking have provided good quality jobs in recent years. Print

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