Panellists discussed how cities can boost skills and create more jobs at the Lucknow edition of IE Thinc: CITIES series, presented by The Indian Express with Omidyar Network India. The session was moderated by Udit Misra, Associate Editor

On UP government’s urbanisation initiatives

Amrit Abhijat: At 22 per cent, Uttar Pradesh’s urban growth rate is below the national average of 35 per cent. However, cities like Lucknow, Agra and Gorakhpur are growing rapidly, with 1,417 urban centres seeing growth at or above the national level. Since 2014, investments from the Central and state governments have exceeded Rs 40,000 crore — six times the budget from  before — with a 400 per cent rise in state funding for urban development.

Key initiatives include the Swachh Bharat Mission, addressing legacy waste, door-to-door waste collection, and sanitation improvements. Notably, nine lakh toilets were constructed between 2019 and 2024, with 1.5 lakh built for Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. Enhanced stormwater drainage systems, tree plantations and solid waste management plants combat environmental challenges and groundwater pollution.

Health and sanitation efforts have significantly reduced diseases like Japanese encephalitis in Gorakhpur. Urban animal control is also a priority, with 85,000 stray dogs sterilised in Lucknow over five years. Programmes like the AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) scheme address water and sewerage needs, while digital initiatives like ICCCs (Integrated Command and Control Centres) use AI and IT systems to manage urban mobility, waste and security.

Urbanisation has spurred skill development and employment. Investments in infrastructure, like roads, bridges and airports for Kumbh Mela, created opportunities for drivers, technicians and labourers. Initiatives under the National Urban Livelihood Mission, such as Shakti Rasoi, have empowered women, offering training and incomes of up to  `2,000 per day. Similarly, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has transformed housing, generating ripple effects in industries like cement, steel, and furniture.

Green policies are now a focus, with a three per cent budget reserved for horticulture. This includes nursery development and training programs to enhance urban greenery. Specialised facilities, such as senior care centres and working women’s hostels, provide modern amenities and generate employment in management, security, and service roles. In essence, UP’s urban development strategy not only improves livability but also creates economic and professional growth opportunities, fostering sustainable urbanisation.

On the solutions for urbanisation

Paramjeet Chawla: We know that UP is the third largest economy among states at this point and cities are going to be the engines of growth where the maximum amount of jobs are going to be created. In a recent Delhi-NCR study, we found that the core is hollowing out, which means that even though there’s absolute employment, there are concerns that the jobs are moving to the periphery. The core has reached its potential. For Lucknow, based on a very preliminary reading of what I did, we found that the service sector is quite prominent and then we have manufacturing. So understanding and breaking down where the service sector is and using satellite data to do so is important to understand urbanisation. We need to understand that jobs can be created but they need to be created in a way that people actually want to stay in the city and do the job for a longer period of time. It’s not just a matter of creating those jobs; it is also about livability and quality of life. So those enabling ecosystems need to be present.

On how skilling can open up urbanisation

Bornali Bhandari: When you want to understand jobs and skills, it is important to look at economics, demography, technological changes,  spatial changes and urban-rural transition. We know some of the jobs that are being created but skills are an indirect demand. Only if your economic activity is going up for that particular sector, will the number of jobs increase, and then the demand for those skills will increase.  Skills are important for a job because they help you perform better, what we call productivity. You need cognitive skills like reading, writing, learning and communicating, which are all cognitive skills. Cognitive skills like problem-solving, creative thinking and artistic thinking are all more advanced cognitive skills, which develop over time. The second set of skills are adapted from psychological literature — what I call social-emotional skills, essentially empathy, working in a team, and keeping your temper down. These are the big psychological traits that we acquire and use them in our job. If you don’t know how to work in a cooperative manner, then you’re not going to perform. But the challenge is, are we learning those skills in our schools and colleges? Or do we have to relearn our skills at jobs? That’s where the skill mismatch happens.

Then there’s a third factor, which is technical and vocational skilling, functional skills that you require for the job. All of us need this combination of skills to perform on the job. We need to see how urbanisation can create jobs for gig platform workers. You don’t find food delivery platform workers in rural areas. They’re using their phones, for which they need digital literacy. They know how to talk to people at least a little bit nicely, and they know how to interact with businesses at restaurants. So this combination of skills makes them a platform worker, and this is a very unique kind of job. At the same time, these are fresh entry jobs that the students can get to acquire some experience.

A lot of commuter migrants are coming from the villages or other towns to work in tier 3 or tier 2 cities. Urban development creates particular jobs that need to cater to the needs of the urban economies.

On low participation of women in the workforce

Dr Geeta Thatra: There are these schemes and various interventions to propel job creation in urban areas. One gives impetus to job creation in manufacturing and the other to skilling. We see money being put into these kinds of schemes. But the nature of jobs that they create is a question. What we are seeing is an expansion or continued investment, the creation of informal kind of employment. The investments that are made into skilling will only create a certain percentage of formal employment. Jobs are not necessarily being created in the manufacturing sector.  We are seeing them mostly being created in the service sector where employment is at the lower rung of the service economy. There, your average salary is Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000 a month.

If you are in a first-tier city like Mumbai or Delhi, what are you able to afford with `12,000-18,000? The COVID lockdown brought to fore the structural issues that are plaguing the nature of urbanisation in this country. We may think that urban-led economic growth would alleviate rural poverty and create more jobs. But the nature of jobs is going towards informal employment.

At the Aajeevika Bureau, we see wage theft as an everyday reality for urban informal workers. The contribution of workers and migrant workers to city-building and economic growth is very high, but the urbanisation that they experience is exclusionary. They live in appalling conditions. When you look at the living and working conditions, both are terribly difficult for workers in the city and that’s the nature of jobs that we are creating. So we are not moving towards a structure of an economy that’s changing, we are moving more towards formalisation.

On challenges of employability

Smita Agarwal: Uttar Pradesh, with a $280 billion GSDP, aspires to become a $1 trillion economy. Nationally, urban areas contribute 75 per cent to GDP, but in UP, urban sectors account for just 55 per cent. Achieving the $1 trillion goal requires an annual growth rate of 13-15 per cent and raising urbanisation to the national average of 35-40 per cent. Urbanisation is essential to increase per capita income and drive growth.

Infrastructure is a key focus, with significant investments in highways, airports and other large-scale projects. For example, the Jewar Airport is expected to create around one lakh jobs during construction, with additional opportunities in tourism, special economic zones and ancillary industries.

Industrial growth is another major driver. Noida, Greater Noida, and Lucknow are leading examples but more industrial development is needed to match the state’s population and economic aspirations. Initiatives like the defence industrial corridor, with six identified nodes, promise significant job creation. The MSME sector also plays a vital role in employment generation. The service sector — particularly IT parks, healthcare, logistics, and warehousing — is rapidly expanding and creating jobs. However, aligning the skills provided by initiatives like the UP Skill Development Mission and Kaushal Satrang Mission with industry needs remains a challenge.

Improving vocational training in ITIs, enhancing infrastructure and fostering greater industry participation is critical to addressing these challenges and accelerating UP’s journey toward urbanisation and economic transformation.