Govt.confirmed unemployment was at 45-year low
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday constituted three high-powered panels to tackle the issues of economic growth, employment, and national security.
These panels are –Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth, and Cabinet Committee on Security, Employment and Skill Development.
The figure meant India is no longer the world’s fastest growing major economy; it is China, with 6.4 percent growth in the first quarter. India has fallen behind China’s pace for the first time in nearly two years. At the same time, the government’s Ministry of Statistics put out figures that confirmed that unemployment was at a 45-year low.
The ministry said the unemployment rate was at 6.1 per cent in 2017-18, confirming the figure leaked to Business Standard newspaper in January, which said it was the worst since 1972-73.
All the three cabinets will be chaired by the Prime Minister.
The five-member Cabinet committee on security includes Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Raj Nath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
The five-member Cabinet committee on Investment and Growth also includes Shah, Sitharaman, Road Transport, and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
The third Cabinet committee on Employment and Skill Development has 10 members and includes Shah, Sitharaman, Goyal, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal `Nishank`, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister Skill and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey and Ministers of State Santosh Kumar Gangwar (Labour) and Hardeep Singh Puri (Housing and Urban Affairs).
The country’s economy has been one of the primary concern of the new government with GDP dropping to 5.8 per cent in the last quarter of the 2018-19, according to National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) figures. On the employment front, the government released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) – Annual Report (july 2017 – July 2018) which put the unemployment rate at 6.1 per cent, the highest in 45 years.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will play a crucial role in the country’s internal and external security. Ajit Doval, who was reappointed as the National Security Advisor, is also expected to assist the government in the matters of security.
According to the government data released on May 31, India’s GDP growth for the January-March (Q4) quarter slowed to 5.8 per cent from 6.6 per cent in the previous (October-December) quarter. This is the slowest GDP growth rate in five years on the back of poor performance in agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
During the electioneering of the last Lok Sabha polls, the Opposition has fiercely targeted the Modi government, accusing it of having failed in keeping up its purported promise of creating two crore jobs per year. The opposition had also targeted the government, claiming slow down of economy.(With Agency Inputs ).
