UNEMPLOYED: CURSE FOR A NATION

Unemployment is India’s serious predicament. Millions of educated people are without a job. Even skilled and professional like engineers and technicians are collecting unemployment benefits. A horde of labourers who search jobs every day. If we neglect this problem then it will become the reason for the doom of the nation.

There are various types of unemployment. The most common unemployment that is found in India are seasonal unemployment, under unemployment and disguised unemployment.

There are many causes which have led the country to this state of unemployment in India. The first cause is the enormous increase in population. According to UNICEF 67,385 babies are born in India, that’s one sixth of the world’s child births. This means excess in the supply of labor than its demand ultimate leading to jobless population.

In addition is the low purchasing power of the people. It means the people have low income and wages but the prices are sky-high. Consequently the people are not capable to buy. This leads to retrenchment of labour leading to unemployment.

The biggest cause of unemployment among the educated is the flawed system of education. Graduates and post graduates are being turned out every year. They demand ‘white collar jobs’. They loathe work involving physical labour. But the situation has become so drastic that highly educated are ready to do menial jobs.

Another cause is the industrial bashfulness of our country. Pace of economic development is slow. Therefore, our industries cannot provide employment to the increasing numbers. Apart from all these, a large portion of the population is engaged in the agricultural sector which only provides employment in harvest or plantation time.

Unemployment is becoming a serious problem. It is major economic and social problem. Unless this problem is solved, even political freedom would become meaningless. It brings starvation and misery. It encourages dishonesty and corruption. It, thus, produces antisocial elements.

But this problem cannot be solved so easily. It can be solved only if the government and public make a determined effort. The government is taking many steps. Family planning is the first measure. People should lean to limit the number of children to two. Some of the scheme issued by the government are IRDP (Integrated Rural Development Programme), JawaharRozgarYojana, Employment Assurance Scheme, Training for self-Employment. Secondly, the system of education is also being overhauled. Those fit for technical education should be sent for training in respective fields. There should be more emphasis on vocational and technical training and accordingly the curriculum should be altered in schools and universities. The government is trying to set up industries based on agriculture. It is trying to set up cottage industries like carpet-making, mat-making, soap-making and many more to provide employment to the needy.

To conclude, the problem of unemployment in India has reached a critical stage and it has persisted for long. But the government and other authorities have taken the responsibility and working on it. Also, to completely tackle the issue of unemployment we have to find the solution of the main issue that is the enormous population of India. Together we can overcome this hurdle.