Economic Survey 2024: India Needs 78.51 Lakh Non-Farm Jobs Annually To Meet Workforce Demands

In order to boost job generation, the government should look into regulatory obstacles such as the ones related to land use, restricting hours, building codes, and hours for women’s employment

The survey projected that the country’s labour force currently stands at approximately 56.5 crore and this will keep growing until 2044.

Source : ABPLIVE AI

The Economic Survey 2023-24, released on Monday, stated that India needs to generate 78.51 lakh jobs annually in non-agriculture sectors to manage the increasing workforce. The survey projected that the country’s labour force currently stands at approximately 56.5 crore and this will keep growing until 2044.

To be able to create these jobs, India needs to foster conditions that allow faster growth of productive jobs outside agriculture sector, the Ministry of Finance stated via an official release. Citing the survey, the ministry said that these jobs need to be created in organised manufacturing and services sector.

Further, the survey said that skilling initiatives should be considered a priority to help realise the goal of becoming a developed country by 2047. “India’s education policies and skill policies should adopt a laser-like focus on learning and skilling outcomes and need to be aligned with each other, as well. This is one of the six major pillars for realizing the collective goal of ViksitBharat@2047 in the medium term,” the ministry said.

The survey pointed out that the New Education Policy 2020 sets up a good foundation to bring in these changes. Further, it calls on industry leaders to engage in skill creation. 

The document also noted that the government is undertaking measures to generate employment and entrepreneurial opportunities that help tap into the potential of the youth of the country.  It stated that the net payroll additions in the EPFO have increased by more than double in the last five years, indicating a healthy growth in formal employment in the country. 

In order to boost employment generation, the government should look into regulatory obstacles such as the ones related to land use, restricting hours, building codes, and hours for women’s employment. The survey proposes that resolving these chokeholds should help increase the participation of women in the workforce and enhance job opportunities for the people.

Notably, the survey was released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament today. The Economic Survey provides a detailed insight into the economy’s performance in the reviewing period and sets out the foundation for what the incoming Budget should look like and focus on.