Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said opportunities for employment and self-employment are cautiously improving in the country with faster growth and development.
“Fast growth leads to a massive expansion of self-employment opportunities. Today’s India is witnessing this,” Modi said in his address at the Rozgar Mela.
The prime minister’s comments come at a time amid reports of a spurt in joblessness in recent months and continued elevated demand for work under the rural jobs guarantee scheme. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) recently said India’s unemployment rate rose to 8.30% in December, the highest level in 16 months, though it accompanied a hike in labour participation rate.
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At the Rozgar Mela, Modi distributed 71,000 letters of employment to newly-inducted recruits in government departments and organisations, through video conferencing. The initiative is part of the government’s efforts for employment generation and part of the Rozgar Mela drive announced by the PM last year to provide government jobs to 1 million people.
The new recruits, selected from across the country, will join various positions in the Government of India such as junior engineers, loco pilots, technicians, inspector, sub-inspectors, constables, stenographers, junior accountants, grameen dak sevaks, income tax inspectors, teachers, nurses, doctors and social security officers, among others.
Addressing the gathering, the PM said lakhs of employment opportunities have been created in the last eight years through infrastructure development. “Investment of `100 trillion in infrastructure development has opened tremendous opportunities for employment,” he said, noting that when a new road is constructed, it gives rise to employment opportunities along its path. New markets and shops are set up along the road and farmers’ produce also reaches the markets easily due to the road.
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Similarly, construction of a railway line makes the adjoining market much more prosperous and also gives a boost to tourism, the prime minister said. “All these possibilities gave rise to employment opportunities,” he added.
Referring to the Bharat-Net project for providing broadband connectivity in every village, the PM further highlighted the new opportunities for employment when this connectivity takes place. “Even those who are not too tech-savvy understand its benefits. This has opened a new area of entrepreneurship by providing online services in villages,” he said.
He also highlighted the flourishing startup scene in Tier 2 and 3 cities and said that this success has created a new identity for the youth in the world.
The PM also said that lakhs of new families will get appointed to government jobs in the days to come as Rozgar Melas are being organised regularly in NDA-ruled states and Union territories. While the Assam government organised a Rozgar Mela on January 19, states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand are going to organise such events soon.