The Hindu Editorial Analysis
6 October 2025
Treat employment as a national priority
(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 8)
Topic : GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
Context
India continues to lack a comprehensive national framework to effectively address employment and livelihood challenges.
Introduction
India, the world’s most populous and one of its youngest nations, is set to add around 133 million people to its working-age population over the next 25 years — nearly 18% of the global workforce increase, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). With the demographic dividend expected to peak by 2043, India has a limited window to harness its potential.
- Generating quality employment is essential for inclusive growth and social equity. Productive jobs can lift millions out of poverty, narrow regional disparities, and spread the benefits of growth more evenly.
- In a consumption-driven economy like India’s, expanding access to stable, well-paying jobs not only boosts demand but also enhances economic resilience and long-term growth.
Focus on long-term job creation
- National Mission: Employment must be treated as a core national priority, backed by long-term, growth-driven policies that ensure sustained investment and job creation.
- Unified Framework: Despite multiple government initiatives, India lacks an integrated national framework to comprehensively address employment and livelihoods.
- Demand–Supply Balance: Effective job creation needs coordination between demand and supply sides by linking economic growth with skills, mobility, and social inclusion.
- Graduate Employability: Curriculum reform and industry-aligned skilling programmes are essential to make graduates job-ready for evolving sectors.
- Integrated Policy: A comprehensive National Employment Policy should consolidate schemes, involve States and industry, and be monitored by empowered bodies for effective implementation.
- Sectoral Focus: The policy must set time-bound targets, promote high-employment sectors, and align trade, industrial, and labour policies for maximum impact.
- Inclusivity: It should address regional disparities, gender gaps, and barriers faced by marginalised groups, while integrating AI and robotics into skill development.
- Labour Mobility: Strengthen migration and mobility systems through Centre–State cooperation, fostering a unified “One India” employment ecosystem.
- Labour Codes Implementation: Ensure timely execution of the four Labour Codes with clear transition guidelines and support for businesses during adaptation.
Job Creation and Inclusive Workforce Development
- Labour-Intensive Sectors: Focus job creation on textiles, tourism, agro-processing, real estate, and health care, which have high employment potential and can absorb large sections of the workforce.
- MSME Support: Strengthen the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector — employing over 25 crore people — through comprehensive support in finance, technology, skilling, and market access to drive growth with jobs.
- Urban Employment Guarantee: Pilot an urban employment guarantee programme in select cities to tackle urban job distress and provide livelihood security.
- Gig Economy Opportunity: Harness the potential of the gig economy, which employs 80 lakh–1.8 crore workers and could grow to 9 crore by 2030, with increasing participation from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
- Gig Policy Framework: Develop a national policy for the gig economy to foster growth while ensuring worker protection, skilling, financial access, and social security.
- Digital Registry: Create a centralised digital registry for seamless onboarding, preserving work histories, and reducing entry barriers for gig workers.
- Worker Protection: Ensure fair contracts, safety standards, and effective grievance redressal systems to make the gig sector sustainable and equitable.
- Job Quality: Improve wages, working conditions, and social security to enhance job quality and workforce stability.
- Affordable Housing: Provide affordable housing near industrial hubs to improve mobility and living standards of workers.
- Regional Balance: Promote regionally balanced employment through targeted interventions in 100 underdeveloped districts, rural internships, and remote/BPO work models in smaller towns.
- Female Labour Participation: Increase female workforce participation via Employment-Linked Incentive (ELI) schemes, formalisation of Anganwadi and ASHA roles, investment in childcare and eldercare, and campaigns to challenge social barriers restricting women’s employment.
Need for Reliable Employment Data and Coordinated Reforms
- High-Quality Data: Robust, real-time employment data is essential for effective policy design and monitoring.
- Dedicated Task Force: Establish a national task force to improve data collection methodologies, expand coverage to include informal and rural sectors, and minimise delays between data gathering and publication.
- Transformative Strategy: Through coordinated reforms, targeted investments, and an inclusive national employment strategy, India can reshape its employment landscape and fully leverage its demographic dividend.
- Equitable Growth: Strengthening employment systems is vital for achieving inclusive, resilient, and sustained economic growth.
- Broader Reform Vision: These employment measures align with the CII’s Policies for a Competitive India report, reinforcing that job creation is central to building a competitive economy and realising the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Conclusion
To fully realise its demographic dividend and achieve inclusive, resilient growth, India must treat employment as a national priority. This requires a unified employment framework, long-term policy coherence, and targeted interventions across labour-intensive sectors, MSMEs, urban employment, and the gig economy. Coupled with reliable data, skill development, gender inclusion, and regional balance, these measures can transform India’s workforce and drive the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.