Types of Unepmloyement and NITI Aayog Flashcards
NEWS
Recently, the National Statistical Office (NSO) has released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
The unemployment rate in urban areas for persons aged above 15 eased to 7.2% in July-September 2022 from 9.8% in July-September 2021.
What is the Periodic Labour Force Survey?
Considering the importance of the availability of labour force data at more frequent time intervals, the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation launched the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017.
The objective of PLFS is primarily twofold:
To estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. Worker Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the Current Weekly Status (CWS).
To estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both Usual Status and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.
What is Unemployment?
Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work.
Unemployment is often used as a measure of the health of the economy.
NSO defines employment and unemployment on the following activity statuses of an individual:
Working (engaged in an economic activity) i.e., ‘Employed’.
Seeking or available for work i.e., ‘Unemployed’.
Neither seeking nor available for work.
The first two constitute the labour force and unemployment rate is the percent of the labour force that is without work.
Unemployment rate = (Unemployed Workers / Total labour force) × 100.
What are Different Types of Unemployment?
Disguised Unemployment:
It is a phenomenon wherein more people are employed than actually needed.
It is primarily traced in the agricultural and the unorganised sectors of India.
Seasonal Unemployment:
It is an unemployment that occurs during certain seasons of the year.
Agricultural labourers in India rarely have work throughout the year.
Structural Unemployment:
It is a category of unemployment arising from the mismatch between the jobs available in the market and the skills of the available workers in the market.
Many people in India do not get jobs due to lack of requisite skills and due to poor education level, it becomes difficult to train them.
Cyclical Unemployment:
It is a result of the business cycle, where unemployment rises during recessions and declines with economic growth.
Cyclical unemployment figures in India are negligible. It is a phenomenon that is mostly found in capitalist economies.
Technological Unemployment:
It is the loss of jobs due to changes in technology.
In 2016, World Bank data predicted that the proportion of jobs threatened by automation in India is 69% year-on-year.
Frictional Unemployment:
The Frictional Unemployment also called as Search Unemployment, refers to the time lag between the jobs when an individual is searching for a new job or is switching between the jobs.
In other words, an employee requires time for searching a new job or shifting from the existing to a new job, this inevitable time delay causes frictional unemployment.
Vulnerable Employment:
This means, people working informally, without proper job contracts and thus sans any legal protection.
These persons are deemed ‘unemployed’ since records of their work are never maintained.
It is one of the main types of unemployment in India.
What are the Major Causes of Unemployment in India?
Social Factors:
In India the caste system is prevalent. The work is prohibited for specific castes in some areas.
In big joint families having big business, many such persons will be available who do not do any work and depend on the joint income of the family.
Rapid Growth of Population:
Constant increase in population has been a big problem in India.
It is one of the main causes of unemployment.
Dominance of Agriculture:
Still in India nearly half of the workforce is dependent on Agriculture.
However, Agriculture is underdeveloped in India.
Also, it provides seasonal employment.
Fall of Cottage and Small industries:
The industrial development had adverse effects on cottage and small industries.
The production of cottage industries began to fall and many artisans became unemployed.
Immobility of Labour:
Mobility of labour in India is low. Due to attachment to the family, people do not go to far off areas for jobs.
Factors like language, religion, and climate are also responsible for low mobility.
Defects in Education System:
Jobs in the capitalist world have become highly specialised but India’s education system does not provide the right training and specialisation needed for these jobs.
Thus, many people who are willing to work become unemployed due to lack of skills.
STEPS
SMILE Scheme
Recently, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated a scheme “SMILE - Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise”.
It includes a subscheme - ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of persons engaged in Begging’.
Key Points
About:
It is a new Scheme after the merger of existing Schemes for Beggars and Transgenders.
Scheme provides for the use of the existing shelter homes available with the State/UT Governments and Urban local bodies for rehabilitation of the persons engaged in the act of Begging.
In case of non-availability of existing shelter homes, new dedicated shelter homes are to be set up by the implementing agencies.
Focus:
The focus of the scheme is extensively on rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, basic documentation, education, skill development, economic linkages and so on.
It is estimated that an approximate 60,000 poorest persons would be benefited under this scheme for leading a life of dignity.
Implementation:
It will be implemented with the support of State/UT Governments/Local Urban Bodies, Voluntary Organizations, Community Based Organizations (CBOs) , institutions and others.
Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Beggars:
It will be a comprehensive scheme for persons engaged in the act of begging.
The scheme has been implemented in the selected cities on pilot basis having large concentrations of the Beggar community.
During the year 2019-20, this Ministry had released an amount of Rs. 1 Crore to National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) and Rs. 70 Lakh to National Backward Classes Finance & Development Corporation (NBCFDC) for skill development programmes for beggars.
Status of Beggars In India:
According to the Census 2011 ,total number of beggars in India is 4,13,670 (including 2,21,673 males and 1,91,997 females) and the number has increased from the last census.
West Bengal tops the chart followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar at number two and three respectively. Lakshadweep merely has two vagrants according to the 2011 census.
Among the union territories, New Delhi had the largest number of beggars 2,187 followed by 121 in Chandigarh.
Among the northeastern states, Asam topped the chart with 22,116 beggars, while Mizoram ranked low with 53 beggars.
Recently, the Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea for decriminalising begging which has been made an offence in various states under Prevention of Begging Act.
National Backward Classes Finance & Development Corporation
NBCFDC is a Government of India Undertaking under the aegis of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
It was incorporated under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 on 13th January 1992 as a Company not for profit.
Its objective is to promote economic and developmental activities for the benefit of Backward Classes and to assist the poorer section of these classes in skill development and self-employment ventures.
National Institute of Social Defence
The NISD is an Autonomous Body and is registered under Societies Act XXI of 1860 with the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT), Delhi.
It is a central advisory body for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
It is the nodal training and research institute in the field of social defence.
The institute currently focuses on human resource development in the areas of drug abuse prevention, welfare of senior citizens, beggary prevention, transgender and other social defence issues.
The mandate of the institute is to provide inputs for the social defence programmes of the Government of India through training, research & documentation.
