Employment Potential Of A Developing Nation

Employment Potential Of A Developing Nation

Youth is the backbone of any nation and their progress is the indicator of the economic prosperity of nation. Global studies have indicated that number of jobless has increased by 30% after 2007. Thus signalling rise in global unemployed youth. It is really astounding to have a look at the real figures. They are really very discouraging. In South Africa it is almost 55% and in European countries like Greece and Spain the figures are intimidating. ILO predicted that nearly 6% of youth in the age of 15-24 are jobless accounting to 75 million. When it comes to the youth who are inactive referred to as NEETS (not in employment, education and training), constitute 260 million. Youth unemployment would be issue of major concern as the stability and progress of the society as well as country largely depends on the youth.

In India the rate stands at staggering 9.5%. The numbers are really huge in terms of numbers as India contributes to nearly one-fifth of global youth. Though India lags behind several other countries in utilising its natural resources to its advantage, the huge demographic dividend if tapped properly can change the contour of the country. Even highly populated country like China is now experiencing a rise in its aged population. But unfortunately, Government has miserably failed in utilising its great demographic advantage to its benefit and progress.

It is worth noting at this juncture that unemployment is much lower in illiterate population as they are ready to take up any kind of menial jobs. The sudden surge in unemployment is more visible among the educated. The graduates who aim for white collar jobs and are reluctant to take up low paid jobs. India hasn’t developed sufficiently to accommodate the growing number of the graduates in its either manufacturing or the industrial sector which accommodates only 20% and services constitute to 30%. Most of the people seem to depend vastly on the agriculture and its allied activities for bountiful employment which constitutes to nearly 50%. While the NSSO studies puts that nearly 60% of the youth are self-employed. Only 16% youth get regular income, jobs in informal sector account to 85% and in formal sector they are to the tune of 11%.  But in general there is a great concern as 125 million people get added every decade. Further nearly double the number of young graduates strikes the job market than can be placed. Increasing despondency on the part of the educated due to lack of the jobs would result in major unrest and would have an undesirable effect on the social fabric as well.

The educated youth in India are further beset with problem of required skill set needed for immediate placement. The problem is aggravated by the slow growth, which failed to create jobs. Hardly any new jobs have been created during the period 2004-5 to 2009-10, whereas in the previous five years nearly 60million jobs were created. Whereas the economic boom in China has created 130 million jobs. The industrial output in India is at mere 27% while in other big Asian countries it is to the tune of 40-44%. The biggest handicap is our government instead of being proactive in creating new jobs are still depending on the palliatives like the NREGA and other subsidies offered to the villages for their development.

Indian manufacturing giants are keen on foreign direct investment than establishing new firms in India due to the rigid labour laws. Nearly 200 odd labour laws have to be followed to fire the troublesome elements. Moreover, the largest foreign manufacture units in India prefer to use robots, thus the FDI failed to generate new jobs. Hence the answer lies in encouraging the manufacturing sector that can provide more number of jobs. Thus India should concentrate more on making new products than simply squandering this demographic advantage. Though there is great demand for our labour in other countries, it would be realistic to grab the opportunity in developing our infrastructure. Moreover with a concurrent increase of wages in China, foreign giants are keen on shifting their businesses to other South Asian countries. It would greatly benefit an economy like India if it can divert those investments into our country.

Situation in villages is still worse as they lack proper infrastructure thus no scope for industrial growth and hence employment opportunities are bleak. The frustrated youth from villages are now moving to the cities thus adding to the burgeoning woes of the already overpopulated cities. Even in the industrial sector nearly quarter of the jobs are in construction as opposed to the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing units not only contribute to the national income generation but provides an opportunity for exposure to the modern equipment. Thus they enhance the existing skill set and also increase the scope for further training and learning new techniques.

Youth are simmering with anger and their energies are simply getting wasted by their overt presence in protests and agitations. On the other hand, though the youth seem to be more politically active than the previous generation. But hardly any new change can be expected as their political affiliations seem to be same as their parents. Most of them seem to lack the nerve and the objective to envision a new India. The geriatric ruling the country seem to hardly sense the urgent need to arrest the anger among the youth.

The omnipotent and omnipresent corruption, red-tape and crony politics seem to dampen the spirit of the youth. Further, leaders lack the conviction and the single-minded intention to bring about any change in the progress in nation. Especially in terms of creating more manufacturing firms that can engage large number of the skilled as well as semi and under-skilled youth. India is at the verge of simply frittering away its great demographic dividend. Thanks to the lack of vision and commitment on the part of leaders at the top who are busy in constant blitzkrieg and stalling the parliament sessions.

@ Copyrights reserved.

 

 

Cricketing Infamy

Cricketing Infamy

The most recent shocker in the Indian context is the new form of game fixing in cricket, spot fixing has hit the headlines. It is so disheartening to see how the much adored and adulated sport has become synonymous to the betting. As popularised by Indian media channels, IPL has now earned a dubious distinction of Indian Punters League. Indian public is taken on a ride again, for their ridiculous love towards the game.

I am not a cricket expert to comment anything in detail about it. But as a commoner I am little worried about the state of the affairs in general. Does success, fame glory at a young age really spoil the youngsters?

The other day I was watching a 15 min program on one the tainted cricketer. He failed to thrive as a reliable player due to his inconsistent performance and thus failed to make a mark of his own. But I was fascinated by his talent in different activities. He had started a music band, successfully released an album, performed well on stage and in reality shows as well. He is not exceptionally talented, but he adorned several caps. This is seemingly the outward picture of the ex-cricketer. He is famous for his tantrums, aggressive behaviour and hence less popular for his on- field behaviour. With the recent spot-fixing scandal certain things have come to lime light. At present only three players were caught for their role in the muddle. The compelling evidence and hi-tech modes of betting clearly indicate that the muck is very deep. This clearly shows the existence of a category of crooks resorting to cheap tricks and mean acts just for quick bucks/ luxury. As more information about the connections and private lives of the tainted players is revealed by the information savvy media, the plot is getting much thicker and intricate.

On one hand we have the players who have disgraced the sport. On the other hand, there are a class of cricket players in the present generation who are venerated for their impeccable behaviour. They are admired and respected in cricketing circles. What seems to be glaringly lacking among former category of players is the character. When an individual is a part of the Indian cricket team, it is considered as a tribute to his talent and his character as well. They are looked and watched upon by more than billion people whose hopes are tied with their performance. Younger children watch them with admiration and delight. They become role models and icons for them. In a cricket frenzy nation like ours, it is a matter of great honour and prestige to represent our nation in the International arena. Millions of young people work tireless day and night to acclaim that honour and dream of it relentlessly. In face of stiff competition and several ordeals people make it to the national team. For an ardent cricket fan he is a demi-god even.

Aspiring young players put in their heart and soul to earn the reputation of a good cricketer. Their commitment and devotion is unquestionable. For they know that they will be rewarded bountifully if they have a good cricketing career. Unlike other sports, cricketers in India are paid well and there is no dearth for sponsorship for promising and upcoming players.

Though this is not the first time, cricket being plagued by match fixing ailments, but looking at the extensive global spread, betting seems to be more far flung and deep rooted. Iam quite perplexed by the huge network. These events have warranted me to think about the cricketers. They attained the reputation of a good cricketer due to their hard work and commitment towards the game. Then why did they become so greedy about the riches and the luxuries?  Why do they have to resort to nasty activities? Are they getting easily enticed by quick money? Is the glory of the success and the limelight which they  are receiving at a young age putting them at cross roads where they are willing to compromise their morals and values? Is getting too much, too early is the root cause for their disgraceful activities?

Instead of imparting morals and values at a young age are we making children run after success ruthlessly unmindful of the sequence of the events that will entail on them for their immoral activities? Are these the lessons to be learnt by the parents? It is time to stop and think.  Are the overambitious parents pushing their wards to that extreme point where nothing but success, fame, glory alone matter?????

 

 @ Copyrights reserved.

Women As Potential Work Force

Women As Potential Workforce

When I read about the article, referring to the diminishing number of women who are employed, and several questions stuck my mind. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Working-women-Delhi-has-lowest-per-cent-in-top-cities/articleshow/20020157.cms

Due to substantial increase in awareness and realisation among the masses the more number of children started attending schools. More so the number of girl students seeking education has shown a marked improvement. Hence, we can find almost the same number of boys and girls in a class till high school level. But often in science stream girls outnumber boys. Some statistics also show that women are ahead in obtaining higher degrees than men in universities.

So why is there such a sharp difference between male and female when it comes to employment rates or in their contribution as potential work force?????? Employment doesn’t necessarily depict the economic independence alone. It is also a matter of sharing power, a say in policy making and also having a sizeable influence in shaping economy and thus contributing to the nation’s economy and its progress.

In my opinion it not a simple issue to be brushed under carpet. In India the places of highest education patronise meritorious students by offering the professional courses at affordable prices. Government bears the cost of maintaining the infrastructure and providing quality education. Thus a considerable amount of money is spent in educating the meritorious and deserving candidates. The issue is of grave importance as it is tax payer’s money.  When the abilities of highly qualified and skilled people are not fully utilised it a great loss to a developing economy like India. Till to the university levels, both men and women obtain similar education and there is no bias in the assessment of their skills too. So it is proven beyond doubt that both of them are equally eligible and qualified for a job.

It is important to know why women are lagging behind in when it comes to contributing as a reliable work force. I think the huge gap is due to institutional, societal gaps which ought to be bridged. Women seem to successfully manage to obtain good education but fail to have deep and grudging ambition to raise high in life. This in part is due to the existence of patriarchal society, which refuses to accept importance of women’s empowerment.  The expectations from a woman are still the same as it has been several centuries ago.  To add fuel to fire women seems to lack that steering attitude to push themselves far ahead.

The article further mentions about the lowest number of women workforce in the capital city, Delhi. These statistics has much more to convey as Delhi is notorious for being the most unsafe place among metros. Does this reinforce the fact that workplaces and public places are no longer safe for women?

To have a clear picture of the present situation I have made a table with the data report of census for the year 2011 and the NSSO data quoted in the The Times.

Metros	Literacy Rate (%)			Work Force (%)
	Men	Women	Overall	Men	Women
Delhi	91.03	80.93	86.34	53.1	10.6
Mumbai	90.04	86.03	88.48	60.6	18.8
Kolkata	89.08	84.98	87.14	59.9	17.9
Chennai	93.47	87.16	90.33	58.6	19.4
Bengaluru	91.82	84.8	88.48	61.8	24.3

The sharp difference in the percentages of men and women indicate the growing gender inequality. This has a direct consequence to the visibly lower number of females in offices and work places. This situation will have long-term repercussions in policy making. These numbers also indicate the societal perception towards women and their far reaching implications in functioning of a society altogether as a single unit.

Are these reflective of the societal attitude even?  May be the answer is yes. There is huge difference in the literacy rates of male and female in Delhi (almost 11%) as compared to other metros (5-7%) where the numbers are more are less comparable. Does this mean that society has a great role to play in empowering women?

Not only in the society, it is appalling to find existence of a greater parity in the remuneration paid to men and women. The numbers doesn’t exactly reflect the contribution of the literate people alone as workforce since great chunk of illiterates are together counted as workforce. So these values represent the present trend/ scenario. This also suggests the growing enthusiasm of the people to educate female child, and their   apathy in empowering them as well.

On similar lines, a study of the women and their current employment status in US has been excellently brought out in a form of book “Homeward Bound: Why women are embracing the new domesticity” by Emily Matcher. It speaks about the new trend wherein highly educated and sophisticated women are increasingly embracing domesticity. This inclination towards domestic activities is in sharp contrast to the ambitious and career oriented features of women in our earlier generation. Who were known to be very aggressive, ambitious and had an attitude of sky is the limit. They earned the distinction of being “super-moms” juggling different roles. Instead this book elucidates the sudden interest shown by the highly educated women in domestic and labour intensive work has set a new precedent. They are now actively engaging in creative pursuits and enthusiastically setting new business which they can manage from home. This orientation from being a super-mom to the old-fashioned and home acclimatised genre of women is redefining the dimensions of society. They have carved a new niche, where they are actively indulging in the activities which are closer to their heart.

 

 

There can be few conclusions that can be made from this new home bound movement-families in which women can afford to stay at home are no longer pushing themselves into the mad race of corporate professionalism. The corporate culture reverberates in the slogan of the survival of the fittest. Perhaps they are instead deriving lot of pleasure and happiness in certain activities which give them lot of satisfaction and happiness. But, this kind of living sure enough is going to deprive them of certain luxuries which can be availed by paying money. In other words they are ready to forgo their king-sized life style. Women have shifted gears and are no longer complaining about the comforts. They are instead finding some comfort and solace in flaunting their potentials by staying at home.

On economic front, this indicates that family is able to have a comfortable living from a single income. Does this indicate that the economic position of the family is the crucial factor which strongly influences women in making a career decision? This might be one reason in countries like US and to a varying extent in other developing countries too. But in a huge country like India which is diverse the reasons are varied. But by and large the societal set-up seems to have a demoralising effect resisting the emergence of women as promising workforce.

To sum up though this increasing fondness towards domesticity may not be new, the implications may be far-reaching. The effects range from changing the dynamics of society like their say and share in power, politics, finance etc..... But this doesn’t necessarily mean that women staying at home are not capable and competent (as some people are very quick to draw easy conclusions).

 

@  Copy rights reserved.

Ideal Idol

Ideal Idol

No two individuals are the same. Every individual is so unique and different. But there are certain people who are class apart and stand out of the group. They make a great difference in lives of several people, by their humanistic ideas, values, principles and attitudes.

Sometimes by stroke of luck we meet certain people who later on change the dimensions of life by their magnificent character. Such people leave an indelible effect on others. Though they may not be present physically all the time, just mere recollection of the person and their attributes ushers a new light in to our lives. The true essence of a person is the personality which is not just the mere physical appearance. The exquisite qualities and attitude defines a person.

Truly the attitude makes the person remarkable. Very often we get attracted to certain people for no reason. They seem to have magical effect. They seem to generate a feeling which is beyond definition of words. Often we find people idolizing certain individuals, sometimes it sounds foolish. Though it is hard to believe, they are the people who can motivate us and also bestow the courage to dispel negative and crippling feelings that haunt us and sap us of our energies.

Whenever we are stuck or deeply troubled and when situations drive us to contemplate life, at times feeling of helplessness creeps in. These kinds of contemplations instead of enhancing the mental faculties drive us into negativity. It is at that crucial hour, we need a new breeze, motivation and enthusiasm to surge forward. It is at this point most of us need a fresh lease for life. More often this requirement of met by our beloved family, friends and most successfully by the people whom we idolize. They are our source of motivation and inspiration too. They occupy the most coveted place in our lives. We get psychologically attached to them.

It becomes really difficult to express our feelings or emotions towards such individuals whom we deeply respect. It is as if words have failed us. It is a situation, when we our heart is filled with so much of emotions that words literally throttle our mind. Finally it becomes so difficult to express what we are actually experiencing. Our ideas, thoughts are all filled with them, but we remain expressionless before them. It is not just love; it is innermost feeling of ecstasy we experience. As deep down somewhere we might have wished to have such a personality but failed to groom ourselves well. May be we didn’t have enough mental strength, willpower and to emerge as a vibrant and dynamic personality. So, when we supposedly meet such persons who have all the qualities which we always wanted to have—we are bound to have two strong emotions towards them. Since we objectively know that we don’t have the qualities which we deeply cherish, we always look at them with high esteem. Hence we also tend to revere and love them enormously. The other extreme aspect of it is envy.

Finally it is the beauty of the character which enchants and captivates us. If we experience the inner beauty of any person I am sure we are definitely going to fall in love with them.

 

@ Copyrights reserved.

A Glimpse Of Indian Youth

A Glimpse Of Indian Youth

Just like any other day I was waiting at the usual place under the shade of trees to pick up my son’s school bus. There are two colleges near my regular waiting place. Hence the road is busy with students who pop out of their classes more frequently. A couple of shops on the opposite side of the road make a great business by catering to the needs of these students. Almost every day I find a group of students from the colleges sitting under two huge trees and merrily whiling away time with their friends. Busily munching the packed foods and leaving the filth behind. Some days I find them proudly flaunting their so called girl- friends. Other days I find them plagued by the amount of the empty calories they are adding up due to the junk foods and the cold beverages. Some of the boys leisurely loiter around the place and happily puff up a chain of cigarettes passed on by friends. I strongly abhor this place cursing my fate for being a victim of passive smoking.

Sometimes girls do occupy the same spots eagerly waiting for their male friends. They use this time for some adventure and take free bike riding lessons from their male counterparts. Most of them, voluntarily offer their expertise as it is time to display their penchant for bikes and their dynamic feats too.

Everyday a new story unfolds before me. I too wait for it eagerly as I get my dose of free entertainment for a span of 10-15min. These guys do remind of my college days and sometimes when I strongly rebuke their actions within myself. Perhaps my thinking is paralysed by middle aged syndrome as I started deriving a derisive pleasure in making value judgements on people around me.  At times I do envy them as our college days were much different and also we could never freak out so easily. But watching them regularly is a real fun as youth are full of energy and enthusiasm. They have the drive but at times are directionless. After watching them all these days I had an impression that they are carefree, light-hearted and beguile. I always found them so casual and cool.

But suddenly yesterday I was pleasantly surprised when I could see the place very clean devoid of smoke rings from a distance. I thought it was really unusual of them to be so. As I approached my usual spot little earlier than other days, I could over hear a loud and animated discussion. When I tried to concentrate on their talk, I discovered it was something related to our country. All the boys sported a grave look and were intently debating about the Indo-Pak relationships in the wake of Sarabjit’s death.

I was surprised by the ease with which a guy in the group started discussing about Kashmiri-Muslims, their allegiances, dwindling numbers of Kashmiri Pandits, implications of the Article 370. The hardships and resistance faced by the armed forces in Kashmir, incidence of the wars between India and Pakistan and further more the implications and consequences of the same in light of India’s diplomatic strategies. They were hugely debating about the biased opinions of the politicians. I was startled when another guy in the group started quoting some facts from various articles and book written by Indian historian Ramachandra Guha. I was bowled by their enthusiasm and knowledge of the current affairs. I never imagined that this group of youngsters could discuss and have well formatted opinions on serious issues. I always thought them to be more concerned about the IPL matches, latest movies and the remunerations paid to the cricketers during auction or the new movies under construction or ready for launch. Truly, they have warranted me to change my attitude towards them and to restrain from judging them by their playful behaviour. Before I could enjoy their discussion any more, the bus blew the horn and my little one jumped out of the bus with arms flung open inviting me to have a tight hug..........

 

 

@ Copyrights reserved.

About Winter In Summer

About Winter in Summer

The scorching and ruthless summer of Delhi drains out the energy and enthusiasm of its residents. High temperatures during summer may not be an unusual feature in a tropical country like India. But what is significant is the extreme weather change.

Any person who visits Delhi for the first time during the winter season would never believe that it is the same place, blazing fire in summer. It is so despicable to understand how the place experiences two contrasting climates. Harsh and severe temperatures are a common feature in Delhi. The strategic geographic location of the place in the northern hills is the reason for all its woes. Owing to its proximity to the mighty Himalayan ranges and Thar desert on the west. It is sandwiched between the two antithetical entities, i.e., snowy mountains and the hot desert. Thus, bestowing with the harshest possible climate and hence climate of the place seems to be its natural and fiercest enemy. Hardly any other metro in the country experiences such extremities. It is hard to imagine how the numb, lazy and shivering cold days slowly turn hot, sweltering and fiery.  Though the transitions seem to be very slow and perceptible it is really difficult to understand.

Nature controls existence of life on earth. Climate exerts greatest influence on the all the life forms. Delhi is also reeling under severe air pollution contributed by its huge fleet of vehicles, air conditioners and refrigerators that constantly pump dangerous chloro-flouro gases into the air. The effects of global warming seems to be imminent in this place as the artificial heat generated by these pollutants is further enhancing the severity of the climate and making it too harsh. Today I just want to relive a typical wintery day to beat this summer heat and to chill..............

 It is a common experience to find every Delhiite be it young, old or child all of them will be struggling to get out the comfortable and cosy layers of the comforters. As even the Sun God seems to be trying to lazily force himself out of the blanket of clouds with chilly winds unleashing the winter skies. Eventually everyone is swept by this breeze of sluggishness and seen pushing themselves hard to reach their work places in time or their daily duties. Interestingly, most of them often don’t shy away from accepting their reluctance to attend important schedules during early hours of the day. The cold climate has such a magical effect that people would long to sleep for hours together. Of course it is not person’s indiscipline or inability to control his physical being. But the cold temperatures urges the body to conserve the heat and hence the lethargy in performing all other activities. Consequently, food, clothing and the required paraphernalia at home are subsequently changed to suit the cold climate. Everything seems to have taken a sudden twist with people preferring fattier and protein rich diet. Don’t be mused if you find people constantly munching peanuts/Gajaks. Kitchen seems to be busy all the time buzzing with activity to satisfy the unquenchable appetite. As suddenly the appetite seems to increase and no amount of food seems to be sufficient. Women folk experience a sudden urge of try out new delicacies/recipes to keep body fit and agile. Winter is a fun time in terms of even personal clothing. We quickly lose count of the number of the layers of cloths we are wearing. None seems to be bothered about the style quotient as along they are feeling warm (barring few youngsters or fashion conscious people). Rest all seem to pack themselves to beat the cold. It is heart warming to recapitulate the normal routine of winters.

Climate undoubtedly changes the way of living. Perhaps all the above cycle of events are more are less similar in most of the households. But for people who thrive on marginal incomes like the slum dwellers, rag pickers or the daily labour that has migrated to the city in search of living life is in abysmal state especially during winters. They hardly have a shelter and it is pathetic to find them sleeping on the pavements during harsh cold. The infrastructure of the city coupled with apathy of the concerned authorities failed miserably to provide adequate shelter and offer some respite to at least the old and children. The hapless lot are seen wrapping sheets of plastic around to tide this cold climate.

Situation in developed countries is much better in this aspect as their houses are sufficiently furnished to tide over the extreme temperatures. Miserably the houses in the capital city are not sufficiently equipped to accommodate room heaters or instant hot water supply systems to mitigate the severe cold which returns unfailingly every year. Further the long nail, biting cold seems to be unending due to frequent load shedding caused by extensive usage of heaters. For most of the corporate working class the best place is of course their plush office cabins which are sufficiently equipped to meet the extremes of the climate.

 

@ Copyrights reserved.