16. Employment & Skill Development - AW

Question 1

What is unemployment and which agency is responsible for computing it in India?

Answer 1

Unemployment refers to the state where an individual of working age is without work, despite actively seeking and being available for work. The National Statistical Office (NSO) is the nodal agency for computing unemployment in India.

This definition emphasizes the active search for work as a key component of unemployment.

Question 2

What are the two main methods used by NSO to compute unemployment in India?

Answer 2

The two main methods are:
* Usual Principal Status (UPS)
* Current Weekly Status (CWS)

UPS reflects chronic unemployment over the last 365 days, while CWS reflects short-term unemployment over the past week.

Question 3

Cloze: The Usual Principal Status (UPS) method uses a reference period of the last ____ days, while the Current Weekly Status (CWS) uses a reference period of ____ days.

Answer 3

365; 7

This distinction is crucial for understanding how each method captures different aspects of unemployment.

Question 4

Cloze: Under CWS, an individual is considered employed if they have worked for at least ____ hour on at least ____ day during the seven days prior to the survey date.

Answer 4

one; one

This criterion highlights the minimal threshold for employment under the CWS method.

Question 5

Cloze: The NSO’s methodology attempts to capture both ____ (UPS) and ____ (CWS) unemployment.

Answer 5

chronic; short-term

Understanding these types of unemployment is important for policy and economic analysis.

Question 6

List all the key keywords and boxed terms related to unemployment computation in India.

Answer 6

Keywords:
* unemployment
* National Statistical Office (NSO)
* Usual Principal Status (UPS)
* Current Weekly Status (CWS)
* chronic unemployment
* short-term unemployment
* reference period
* labour force participation
* informal sector
* PLFS
* data collection
* policy making

These keywords are essential for understanding the framework of unemployment computation.

Question 7

What are the main issues with the current unemployment computation methodology? (Bullet points, keywords only)

Answer 7

Issues:
* Excludes domestic work, underemployment
* Inadequate informal sector coverage
* No data on education/skills
* Delay in data release
* Data quality concerns

These issues highlight the limitations of the current methodology in accurately capturing unemployment.

Question 8

What are the main solutions suggested to improve unemployment data? (Bullet points, keywords only)

Answer 8

Solutions:
* Broaden/update definitions
* Comprehensive informal sector survey
* Collect education/skill data
* Use modern technology (apps, blockchain)
* Frequent surveys, timely release
* Openness to scrutiny/feedback

These solutions aim to enhance the robustness and relevance of unemployment data.

Question 9

What is the way forward for improving unemployment data and policy? (Bullet points, keywords only)

Answer 9

Way Forward:
* Improve data collection
* Enable effective policy making
* Timely, accurate, comprehensive data
* Stakeholder engagement

This approach emphasizes the need for collaboration and accuracy in data collection.

Question 10

List 4-5 value addition points that provide an edge in understanding unemployment computation in India.

Answer 10

Value Addition:
* Recognizes chronic vs. short-term unemployment
* Highlights informal sector data gap
* Emphasizes technology in data collection
* Links data quality to policy effectiveness
* Advocates for education/skill data integration

These points provide deeper insights into the complexities of unemployment computation.

Question 11

What is demographic dividend and what are the twin challenges India faces in realizing it?

Answer 11

Demographic dividend refers to the economic growth potential from a high share of the working-age population. India faces the twin challenges of unemployment (insufficient jobs) and unemployability (workforce lacking required skills).

Question 12

Provide a table listing the challenges of unemployment and unemployability in India.

Answer 12

Challenges of Unemployment:
1. Wastage/underutilization of demographic dividend; jobless growth (13.4% graduate unemployment 2022-23)
2. Overburdened agriculture (disguised unemployment), underemployment, informalization, poverty
3. Low FLPR (~20%), gender divide in STEM and employment

Issues of Unemployability:
1. Mismatch between industry demands and educational skills (only 51% graduates employable)
2. Technological change, digital skills gap, language barriers
3. Less emphasis on vocational skills, societal norms, ‘craze’ for government jobs, poverty of aspiration

Question 13

What are the main solutions to address unemployment and unemployability in India? (Bullet points, keywords only)

Answer 13

• Industry-academia linkage
• Market-relevant courses (AI, data analytics)
• Vocational training, skilling, reskilling (NEP 2020, PMKVY, PM-DAKSH)
• Promote entrepreneurship, startups (Startup India, AIM)
• Self-employment (Mudra Yojna, PMEGP)
• MSME capacity building
• Boost manufacturing (Make in India)
• Focus on labor-intensive industries
• Create non-farm jobs
• Increase FLPR, women in STEM (Vigyan Jyoti, STEP)

Question 14

What is the way forward for realizing India’s demographic dividend? (Bullet points, keywords only)

Answer 14

• Collaborative approach
• Address both unemployment and unemployability
• Enable full demographic dividend potential

Question 15

List 4-5 value addition points that provide an edge in understanding India’s demographic dividend and its challenges.

Answer 15

• Recognizes intertwined nature of unemployment and unemployability
• Emphasizes industry-academia linkages
• Highlights gender and skill gaps
• Connects policy to demographic dividend realization
• Focuses on collaborative solutions