PhDs applying for jobs as peons in railways! Rajan on joblessness

NT Bureau, Agencies

Washington: India is not reaping the benefits of demographic dividends, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said on Tuesday, emphasising that there is a need to focus on improving the human capital and enhancing their skill sets.

Rajan said regardless of whether one picks services, manufacturing, agricultural construction, India has a problem.

“And this is so well known. Unemployment numbers are high, disguised unemployment is even higher, labour force participation is low, female labour force participation is alarmingly low…the share of agriculture and jobs is increasing in recent times. This is exhibited in highly educated unemployment and massive numbers of people applying for government jobs. PhDs applying for jobs as peons in railways,” he said.

“Even as this is happening. Even as we have a massive labour which is unemployed, we have the capital intensity of manufacturing steadily going up,” Rajan said.

“I think we are in the midst of it (demographic dividend), but the problem is we are not reaping the benefits,” Rajan said at a conference on “Making India an Advanced Economy by 2047: What Will it Take” at the George Washington University here.

“That's why I said 6 per cent growth. If you think that's about what we are right now, take away the fluff in the GDP numbers. That 6 per cent is in the midst of a demographic dividend. It is much below where China and Korea were when they reaped their demographic dividend.

"And that's why I'm saying we are being complicit when we say this is great. This is not because we are losing the demographic dividend because we are not giving those guys jobs,” he said.

“And that leads us to the question, how do we create those jobs? The answer to my mind is partly enhancing the capabilities of the people we have, partly changing the nature of the jobs that are available...''