New Delhi, May 13, 2017: India is an agricultural country. With 80% of country’s population residing in villages, the economy is agrarian. However, being seasonal in nature, agriculture sector can’t generate employment on regular basis. Creating job opportunities for thousands of youths, particularly from rural areas, who are mainly dependent on the output of their farms, is a daunting task.
To cope up with this issue, creating maximum job opportunities by providing them technical or non-technical training is one of the solutions. The Maharashtra government has been doing every bit on this front by setting up more Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) at taluka places. It has also planned to start IIMs and IITs at district-level for advanced education.
Unemployment—A Major Curse
According to reports, India needed over 5 crore jobs to maintain the imbalance between population and unemployed people. Rising population and unavailability of skilled manpower has been the major reason behind increasing unemployment. Added to that is non-availability of sufficient job opportunities in various sectors.
While jobs are available in IT and Finance sectors, other sectors such as Manufacturing still lack in getting proper resources mainly due to unskilled labour. Indian manufacturing industry is worth over Rs 17,000 crore and though industry estimates say the sector is booming, reality is different. The issue is major manufacturing sectors such as automotive, power generation, aerospace etc are not getting skilled manpower to run the industries.
Role of Government
In this scenario, the role of the government bodies assumes significance. It needs to framework certain policies that can boost the employment generation. It also needs to amend labour laws, particularly in the manufacturing sector. This will not only ease getting skilled manpower, but also generate more jobs for rural youths.
The perfect example of this initiative is development of IT sector at Hinjewadi in Pune post commencement of Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The area is considered as one of the best IT hubs and has generated employment to lakhs of people, skilled as well as unskilled.
Besides government bodies, big corporate houses and MNCs should also initiate certain steps that can help cope the unemployment.
The union government has launched various employment generation schemes such as Swarnjayanthi Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY), Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) etc.
Maharashtra Government Initiatives
Similarly, the Maharashtra government has also initiated certain schemes that can help generate employment in rural areas. It has been particularly laying stress on self-employment by extending support to the youth who want to start their own businesses.
It has also come up with various schemes that help youth raise finance and capital for starting entrepreneurship. It has also been holding camps and workshops in districts across the state so as to educate the youth about the importance of self-employment and the schemes attached to it.
Tackling Unemployment through Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg
Through its ambitious Rs 46,000 crore Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, the Maharashtra government proposes to provide employment to the rural youths by setting up industrial belts along the 700 km long super communication expressway that will connect Mumbai and Nagpur. It will pass through 10 districts of the state and its commercial impact will be seen in 24 districts leading to a developed and prosperous state of Maharashtra.
Besides setting up industrial belts, the state government will also be providing food plazas and restaurants, shops and wayside amenities like trauma centre, bus bays, truck terminals thereby generating employment opportunities. The state has set a target of providing jobs to over 6 lakh people staying in Vidarbha, Marathwada, parts of North and Western Maharashtra apart from coastal belt of Konkan.
The Samruddhi Mahamarg will eventually be integrated with the Golden Quadrilateral and the Western Corridor to ensure seamless connectivity across the state.
In what is being viewed by many as a significant step towards providing a major fillip to the infrastructure of Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Prosperity Mahamarg will invite active participation of farmers in the developmental activities of the project. This development will not only offer short-term gains but also offer sustainable development that will strengthen the rural economy and agri-business eco-systems.
Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)
