While commenting on the growing worries of the youth, the Finance Minister in an exclusive interview with ToI said “What you failed to point out is that it can still employ that many more, though more like crane operators and not brick carriers. Today, large construction doesn’t happen in situ, material comes from some place, it is fitted as per plan, often with some computerised perfection. Jobs are still there, but no longer that manual. It is still going to take a lot of manpower, but the skill sets have to be different. You still see hundreds of people when a new Parliament building is being built or the Central Vista is being built.”
Budget focused on job creation:
In a move aimed at addressing unemployment and fostering economic growth, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an employment generation plan in the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.
The plan proposes the creation of approximately 4.1 crore jobs over the next five years, with a substantial allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore to drive this initiative.The proposed employment generation plan includes a range of measures to enhance job creation and skill development across the country. A portion of the budget, Rs 1.48 crore, has been earmarked for skilling initiatives, targeting the training of 20 lakh youth over a five-year period. Furthermore, Sitharaman announced the upgrade of 1,000 industrial training institutes to better equip the workforce with the necessary skills to meet industry demands.In a step to encourage youth employment, the budget includes a one-time wage incentive for all first-time employees across all sectors. This incentive, provided through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), aims to reduce the initial financial burden on new entrants to the workforce and promote smoother transitions into employment.A highlight of the budget was its focus on women’s participation and upskilling in the workforce. An allocation of over Rs 3 lakh crore has been made for schemes benefiting women and girls.
Economic Survey’s growing concern:
Citing recent hiring trends in India across sectors, the Economic Survey flagged that “deploying capital-intensive and energy-intensive AI is probably one of the last things a growing, lower-middle-income economy needs.”
From the medium-term perspective, the Survey noted that the social impact of emerging technology like AI through labour market disruptions and labour displacement is barely understood. “It also has the potential to skew the capital and labour shares of income in favour of the former,” it said.
“Studies suggest that the application of AI is likely to restrain the growth opportunities for business services progressively and, therefore, poses a challenge to long-term sustainability and job creation,” the Survey added.
(with ToI and agency inputs)