New Delhi: Leading industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Sunday called for a host of measures to be included in the upcoming Union Budget announcements to boost job generation. It suggested a seven-point agenda that would create jobs, including an integrated National Employment Policy, policy support for employment generation, implementation of labour codes, and increased participation of women in the workforce, among others.
The industry forum is of the view that India is now the world’s most populous country, boasting 1.45 billion citizens. “With a median age of just 29 years, India is also a young country and is set to add 133 million people to its working-age population by 2050. Mass scale employment generation is important to engage this young population productively, and to drive inclusive growth,” the CII said.
In order to harness India’s demographic dividend, CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said, that India stands at a unique juncture where its demographic dividend presents a tremendous opportunity to propel economic growth and social transformation. Employment generation is a critical pillar in this journey.
“Coupled with higher employment, India also needs to ensure that productivity goes up. India’s incremental capital output ratio needs to trend down from its present level of 4.1. We need to establish metrics of measuring this. In fact, the Union Budget could set up an expert committee to study this in greater detail and recommend measures on the way forward,” Banerjee said.
The CII has proposed an integrated National Employment Policy, which could subsume under its ambit, the slew of employment-generating schemes currently in works by various ministries/states. In addition, the unified policy could also build on the single integrated employment portal - National Career Service (NCS) – wherein all the data can flow into this from various Ministries and State Portals,” it said.
It has also proposed a new section in lieu of section 80JJAA to encourage new employment. “The new provision should continue as Chapter VIA deduction from gross total income which is available even if the taxpayer opts for a concessional tax regime. It can be made available to any taxpayer who carries on business or profession and is liable to tax audit. It can be provided that employees who are recruited by the taxpayer as part of split/ reconstruction or business reorganisation will not qualify for the deduction,” it said.
To boost exports from labour intensive manufacturing sectors, government’s schemes need to be synced that will also lead to employment generation, tariff structures, support through programs like the Production /Employment Linked Schemes, and the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that India is entering. “Besides, for the rural areas, the government could consider launching an internship program in government offices in rural areas, for college-educated youth, which would create short-term employment opportunities in government offices while bridging the gap between education and professional skills,” it said.
It also said that increasing women’s participation in the workforce is another area, which currently is low and it can further boost the Indian economy. “Yet another area of scope for employment is rolling out labour codes while ensuring Social Security coverage to the Gig & Platform workers would further strengthen the employment landscape. New initiatives including the construction of dormitories using CSR funds, the formalisation of sectors like care economy, establishing of government-supported creches in industrial clusters, could be taken to increase female labour force participation,” it added.