New Delhi, March 15
Most of the working Indians have no job security and are casual workers or self-employed, with no regular salaries.

The Economic Survey 2011-2012 presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today paints a mixed picture on future employment potential of Indian markets. It says the upward trend in employment that began in 2009 has continued since then. However, the survey warns against declining rates of job growth in the organised sector.

In 2010, more than half of the workforce (51 per cent) was self-employed and around one-third (33.5 per cent) was casual, leaving just 15.6 per cent with regular wage employment and salaried jobs. Of all the jobs in the organised sector, women held just 20.4 per cent. Though Labour Bureau Surveys, being conducted since 2008 to assess the impact of global economic meltdown on jobs, posted an increase of 9.11 lakh jobs between September 2010 and 2011 with the IT/ BPO sector contributing 7.96 lakh jobs, employment in the organised sector grew at a slower pace than earlier.

Employment in the organised sector (private and public) grew by just 1.9 per cent in 2010 as against 2.3 per cent in 2009. The annual growth rate for the private sector was much higher at 4.5 per cent than for the public sector (0.4 per cent). On March 31, 2010, the public sector had 178.62 lakh persons employed as against 108.46 lakh in the private sector. A positive takeaway from the survey was an overall increase in employment between September 2010 and 2011 - a period that saw an addition of 9.11 lakh jobs. “An upward trend in employment has been continuously observed since July 2009. Between July and September 2011, employment increased in all sectors, except leather and transport. Overall employment increased by 3.15 lakh,” says the survey. As many as 2.04 lakh jobs were contributed by the IT/BPO sector.

During the same quarter, jobs in export-oriented units increased by 1.96 lakh as against 1.16 lakh in non-exporting units. The overall estimated employment in all sectors surveyed saw a net addition of 23.58 lakh jobs between October 2008 (first survey) and September 2011 (12th survey).

The survey also warns of challenges. Whereas 11th Plan had aimed at generating 58 million work opportunities between 2007 and 2012, NSSO reported an increase of 18 million work opportunities between 2005 and 2010. The country will see 63.5 million new entrants in the working age group between 2011 and 2016.

New Delhi, March 15
For the UPA Government which kept accusing Mayawati’s BSP of ignoring its flagship programmes in Uttar Pradesh, the latest Economic Survey has some food for thought.

It shows that the percentage of households provided employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was the highest in Uttar Pradesh in 2010-2011 and the lowest in Congress-ruled Haryana.

Even under the Indira Aawas Yojana, the total percentage of houses constructed in 2011 was the highest in the non-Congress states of Bihar and UP and the lowest in Himachal.

Stressing inclusive growth, the Economic Survey presented in Parliament today showed Kerala, Delhi, Himachal, Goa and Punjab topping the Human Development Index of India in the order of merit.

Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, on the other hand, slipped in rankings to record Human Development Index value lower than India’s average of 0.47.

So far as growth goes, the Survey says the best performer in terms of growth in 2010 was Uttarakhand followed by Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. The worst performers were Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Karnataka.

On poverty, the challenge remains grave, says the survey which shows Odisha comprising the highest poverty headcount ratio of 57.2 pc followed by Bihar at 54 pc and Chhattisgarh at 49.4 pc. 

New Delhi, March 15
The economic report card for 2011-12 has expressed concern about declining area under foodgrain, their management, storage and timely offloading. The document also conveyed concern over the sector’s growth often falling short of the Plan targets and continued dependence of Indian farmers on monsoon, thereby adding to risks they face.

It also said India was lagging behind global levels in most crops, urging for speedy improvement in yield to increase foodgrain production through adequate investment in R&D.

Apart from slow growth and declining per capita availability of foodgrain, the survey expressed worries about compositional shift in food basket of common household that had increased the demand for some food items, recommending a thrust on horticulture products for enhancing per capita availability of food items and ensuring nutritional security.

India’s agricultural policy focus has always been on self-sufficiency and self-reliance in production. Though progress has been made, with foodgrain production rising from 52 million tonne in 1951-52 to 244.78 MT in 2010-11, the share of agriculture in real GDP has fallen, given its lower growth rate relative to industry and services.

During the current five-year plan, agriculture growth is estimated at 3.28 per cent against a target of 4 per cent.

New Delhi, March 15
Significantly, the Economic Survey this year has a new addition — a separate chapter on sustainable development and climate change, reflecting growing challenges of sustainable development and climate change and increasing pressures on land, air, water, forests, plant and animal habitat in low-income countries.

“Diesel prices need a large adjustment now (as China, for example, has recently undertaken), given subsidies, pollution and public health costs. Charging high road and vehicle taxes is another option (that Singapore uses),” the survey suggested. 

New Delhi, March 15
Significantly, the Economic Survey this year has a new addition — a separate chapter on sustainable development and climate change, reflecting growing challenges of sustainable development and climate change and increasing pressures on land, air, water, forests, plant and animal habitat in low-income countries.

The economic report card for 2011-12 lauded India for doing more than its fair share in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and urged developed countries to reciprocate the flexibility shown by G-77 countries and India at the Durban Conference.

Notably, the survey also had a take on diesel prices — a contentious issue involving environmentalists and users.

Diesel prices were already 20 per cent below predicted levels for India in 2010, the pre-Budget document said, adding that divergence had since doubled as global oil prices had surged 45 per cent while domestic price adjustments had not taken place. Misuse of subsidised diesel was adding to pollution and public health costs, it added.

“Diesel prices need a large adjustment now (as China, for example, has recently undertaken), given subsidies, pollution and public health costs. Charging high road and vehicle taxes is another option (that Singapore uses),” the survey suggested.

The document says low prices of diesel were providing incentives for misuse apart from resulting in “shifts to diesel use such as luxury sports utility vehicles”.