Despite the tall claims of the central government, the state of Indian economy continues to be in a precarious position. Industrial production is coming down, and the job market is in a bad shape. As per a report published in the English daily Indian Express, the actual size of India’s male workforce, or men who are working, has shrunk for the first time since 1993-94. In the survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) for 2017-18, altogether 28.6 crore males were found to be employed. This is the first instance of a drop in the male workforce that had steadily swelled from 21.9 crore in 1993-94 to 30.4 crore in 2011-12 when the last NSSO survey was conducted.
The survey suggests that fewer men were employed in 2017-18, compared with five years ago. The report is a damning indictment of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. It has failed to generate enough employment opportunities for the youths. The growing unemployment is becoming a matter of deep concern for India. A country with a burgeoning youth population simply cannot afford to go this way. In another worrying report, the low demand for vehicles since the start of the year has pushed Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest automaker, to reduce vehicle production. The national media reports that the company cut production of its cars by 8.3 percent in February this year, churning out 148,959 units, including the Super Carry LCV, as opposed to the 162,524 units produced during the same month last year. The low demand shows that the economy is in peril and needs urgent attention. The economic issues should be the main focus of election instead of nationalism and religious issues. The opposition should focus on the economy and job creation.