The recent budget announcement of five major employment-related schemes, with an ambitious ₹2 lakh crore outlay over five years, aims to create jobs, enhance skills, and provide opportunities for 4.1 crore youth. While these initiatives mark a significant step towards addressing unemployment, several challenges persist that must be addressed to ensure sustainable and dignified mass employment.

Persistent Challenges in Employment and Wages

1. Low Wages:
   One of the most pressing challenges is the low wage structure in India. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2019-20 revealed that earning ₹25,000 per month places a worker in the top 10% of wage earners. This highlights the stark reality of low income levels for the majority of the workforce. Low wages not only impede the ability of workers to lead a dignified life but also undermine the effectiveness of employment initiatives aimed at improving economic well-being.
2. Short-Duration Skill Programs:
   Another critical issue is the limited success of short-duration skill development programs. While these programs are designed to quickly upskill the workforce, their long-term placement rates have been low. Many participants find that the wages offered after completing such programs are insufficient to sustain a dignified life in urban areas, leading them to return to their villages in search of alternative employment. This highlights the need for a more integrated approach that links education and skills in a continuous manner, ensuring that workers are better equipped for higher-paying and sustainable jobs.

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Public Employment and State Involvement

Lastly, it is important to note that public employment per unit of population in India is much lower than in most developed countries. The state has a significant role to play in creating employment opportunities, not just through direct public sector jobs but also by setting conducive conditions for the private sector to thrive while ensuring workers’ rights and dignity are upheld.

Key Policy Initiatives for Creating Sustainable Mass Employment with Dignity

Skilling Needs:

1. Community Action:

• Begin with decentralised community action to identify skilling needs.
• Ownership of state programs can be fostered through direct community involvement.
• Local bodies like gram sabhas or basti samitis in urban areas can play a critical role in delivering government programs to the people.
• Steps include creating a register of all individuals seeking employment/self-employment and developing personalised plans in partnership with professionals at the cluster level.
• Well-educated professionals should be appointed on fixed terms at the local government level to ensure evidence-based outcomes.
• Use these registers to find skill providers and employers, and base apprenticeships on community connections.

2. Convergence of Initiatives:

• Converge initiatives for education, health, skills, nutrition, livelihoods, and employment at the local government level with women’s collectives.
• This approach will ensure community accountability with untied funds, functions, and functionaries for effective quality outcomes.
• Employment improvement is interconnected with other human development indicators. Devolving and converging these efforts can enhance outcomes.
• Invest more in sectors like education, health, nutrition, environment, and sanitation through decentralised community action.

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Education and Employability

3. Vocational Courses:

• Introduce need-based vocational courses/certificate programs alongside undergraduate degrees (B.A., B.Sc., B.Com.) in every college.
• Make these programs compulsory and provide resources for experimentation, such as courses in tourism and counselling.
• Thai will also help make the graduation programmes employable.

4. Standardisation of Health-Care Courses:

• Standardise nursing and allied health-care professional courses in all states according to international benchmarks.
• Address the issue of uneven quality of institutions and lack of standardised course curricula.

5. Community Caregivers:

• Create community cadres of caregivers to run universal crèches, enabling women to work without fear.
• Implement intensive training programs for caregivers, following the model of Community Resource Persons in the Rural Livelihood Mission.

6. Invest in Technical Institutions:

• Invest in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics as hubs for skill development.
• Address gaps in infrastructure(e.g. By providing advanced machines and instruments) and make these institutions autonomous and community-managed.
• Develop an equivalence framework for academic and vocational inputs.

7. Enterprise and Start-Up Skills:

• Introduce enterprise and start-up skills through professionals in high schools, incorporating technology and business processes into the curriculum.
• Facilitate experimentation and innovation as part of regular school programs. Example: School Students set a stall in the canteen as a part of fun activity.

8. Apprenticeship Co-Sharing Model:

• Implement a co-sharing model of apprenticeships with industry to ensure skilling costs are shared and to foster industry involvement in apprenticeships. 

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Capital Loans and Enterprises

9. Streamline Working Capital Loans:

• Streamline working capital loans for women-led enterprises and first-generation businesses to scale up.
• Leverage technology to create comprehensive credit histories and boost lending confidence.
• The lessons from the lakhpati didis of the Rural Livelihoods Mission bring out the challenges in getting working capital loans.
• The success of the Start Up Village Enterprise Programme (SVEP) under the NRLM brings out the importance of hand holding, Community Enterprise Fun and end-to-end solutions for first generation entrepreneurs.

10. Universal Skill Accreditation:

• Start a universal skill accreditation program for skill providers, with state and industry jointly sponsoring candidates.

11. MGNREGA Investments:

• Use 70% of MGNREGA funds in water-scarce and high-deprivation blocks, focusing on livelihood security through income-generating initiatives.
• Focus on skills for higher productivity of MGNREGA wage earners
• Improve wage rates to facilitate dignified living in poor regions.

12. Scale Up Apprenticeships:

• Increase the scale of apprenticeships and ensure they contribute to skill acquisition and workplace absorption.
• The focus must be on skill acquisition or else it can get routinised with a
• stipend being provided, merely as an incentive.
• Ensure government subsidies are tied to wages of dignity upon successful completion of apprenticeships.

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On August 15, during India’s 78th Independence Day celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the implementation of a Secular Civil Code (SCC). This appeal has reignited the debate on a unified legal framework beyond personal laws and aligns with Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision of equality and progress, especially for women.

Why Secular Civil Code is Important?

• Promotes Equality and Justice: Ensures all citizens are treated equally under the law, particularly benefiting women by bridging gaps caused by varied personal laws.
• Clarifies Religious Freedom: Opposes misconceptions that secular civil code threatens religious freedom; instead, it seeks to ensure equality in civil matters (marriage, divorce, inheritance) while respecting religious practices.
• Fosters National Unity: Standardised legal rights and responsibilities, aiming for uniformity in legal treatment without affecting religious identities.
• Global Examples: Shows that other democracies with unified civil laws (e.g., the U.S., France, Germany) have successfully balanced equality with cultural diversity.
• Addresses Discriminatory Laws: Replaces outdated and discriminatory personal laws with a standard code, promoting social justice and equal rights for women.
• Modernizes Legal System: Simplifies and streamlines the legal framework, making it clearer and more accessible for all citizens.

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Reducing Judicial Burden

• Alleviates Case Backlog: An Secular Civil Code could reduce the nearly 4.70 crore case backlog as of March 2022, many of which involve complex personal law disputes.
  • Simplifies Legal Framework: By streamlining laws, an SCC would ease the judiciary’s workload, enabling it to focus on other critical issues.

Constitutional Duty and Policy Guideline

• Constitutional Mandate: Article 44 of the Indian Constitution directs the state to work towards a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens.
  • Guiding Principle: While not legally enforceable, this directive serves as a fundamental principle for governance.

Conclusion

As Prime Minister Modi emphasised, implementing the SCC is both a legal necessity and a moral imperative. Moving beyond divisive personal laws is crucial for achieving the constitutional vision of equality and justice. Echoing Babasaheb Ambedkar’s view that “Law and order are the medicine of body politics,” the SCC is seen as a remedy for addressing persistent inequalities and injustices in Indian society.

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The tragic murder of a woman doctor on duty at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Hospital on August 9 prompted the West Bengal government to issue a new guideline minimising night duty for women. While this move aims to enhance safety, it raises concerns about its effectiveness and its impact on gender equality in the workforce.

What could be the Potential Impact of the move?

• Low Participation: India’s urban women (aged 15+) have a labour force participation rate of just 25.2% as of April-June 2024 (PLFS data).
• Government Directive: The government’s directive to minimise night shifts for women could worsen the situation.
  • Reduced Opportunities: This policy may push women out of the workforce, limiting employment opportunities.
  • Financial Impact: Restricting night shifts could reduce women’s financial independence.
  • Unintended Consequence: The focus on restricting work hours might lead to job losses rather than improving workplace safety.

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What Can Be Done?

• Rattirer Shaathi Program: A programme by West Bengal Government highlights crucial safety measures like separate restrooms, CCTVs, and a special mobile app—essential but overdue steps.
  • Enhanced Security: Install CCTVs, ensure well-lit safe zones, and provide emergency response systems.
  • Improved Infrastructure: Create separate restrooms and safe facilities for women.
  • Robust Protocols: Develop comprehensive safety protocols for all sectors, including informal sectors.
  • Mandatory Implementation: These measures should be mandatory and effectively enforced instead of restricting women’s work opportunities, which could harm employment.

Are Laws Enough to Prevent Rape?

• NO: Laws alone are insufficient to prevent sexual violence.
• NCRB Report 2022: 4.45 lakh crimes against women were registered, nearly 51 FIRs every hour.
• Need for Societal Change: Legal frameworks must be supported by societal changes, awareness, and effective enforcement.
• Chief Justice’s Emphasis: Protocols must be actively enforced, not just remain on paper.

Recommendations

• Strengthen Safety Protocols: Implement and rigorously enforce comprehensive safety measures across all sectors.
• Promote Gender Equality: Develop policies supporting women’s workforce participation while addressing safety without discrimination.
• Enhance Awareness and Education: Promote societal change through awareness programs focused on gender justice and violence prevention.

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Conclusion

The government’s decision to reduce night shifts for women may worsen their economic marginalisation instead of tackling workplace violence. Initiatives like Kolkata’s Reclaim the Night march highlight the need for genuine support for women’s rights. There’s a strong call for safety measures that protect women without limiting their job opportunities. To truly make a difference, both the government and society must prioritise strong safety protocols and ensure women can work safely and equally at all times.

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India is on track to achieve its ambitious target of blending 20% ethanol with petrol by 2025-26, as indicated by recent progress in blending percentages and increasing ethanol production capacities. However, the journey toward this goal is fraught with challenges, particularly concerning the “food versus fuel” debate. Recent developments, such as the surge in maize imports and restrictions on sugarcane-based ethanol, highlight the complexities of balancing energy needs with food security.

The Blending Target: Current Status and Projections

• India’s ethanol blending program aims to integrate 20% ethanol with petrol by 2025-26, translating to a production target of approximately 1,000 crore litres of ethanol.
• As of now, blending levels have risen from around 8% in 2021 to 13-15% in 2023. 
• This progress highlights the significant strides made in scaling up ethanol production and integration into the fuel supply chain.

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Government Policies and Industry Dynamics

• The NITI Aayog roadmap outlines a significant increase in both sugarcane-based and grain-based distilleries to meet the ethanol blending targets. 
• Specifically, sugarcane-based distilleries need to expand from 426 crore litres in 2021 to 760 crore litres by 2026, while grain-based distilleries must grow from 258 to 740 crore litres. 
• The government’s interest subvention programs have been crucial in facilitating this expansion, but there is a call for their extension to sustain momentum and ensure long-term stability.

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The Sugarcane Dilemma

Sugarcane produces three main products: sugarcane juice and syrup, B-heavy molasses, and C-heavy molasses, in decreasing order of sugar content. Typically, the first two are used to make sugar, while the third is used for ethanol production.

• To boost fuel ethanol production, the government began permitting the diversion of the first two away from sugar production towards fuel ethanol. However, this diversion has led to concerns about the impact on sugar availability.
• The government’s recent restrictions on the diversion of B-heavy molasses and sugarcane juice highlight the delicate balance needed between ethanol production and sugar supply. 
• Expanding sugarcane cultivation to meet ethanol demands further exacerbates water use concerns, with potential impacts on agricultural sustainability.
• To make up for the shortfall caused by restrictions on B-heavy molasses, grain-based distilleries, primarily using maize, have likely been operating at full capacity to maintain blending percentages.This has led to a shortfall in the availability of maize as well aevident by increased Maize imports  this year. 

Increased Maize Imports: A Red Flag?

• Recent data reveals a notable increase in maize imports from April to June of this year compared to the previous year. 
• This rise in imports is largely attributed to the increased use of maize for ethanol production, compensating for restrictions on using sugarcane products.
• While the industry maintains that India has ample grain and sugar surpluses, the spike in imports raises concerns about potential imbalances in the food supply chain.

Fuel Efficiency in Automobiles

• Ethanol blending not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also has the potential to save foreign exchange and support rural economies. 
• However, there are concerns about the impact of higher ethanol content on vehicle performance.
• Existing vehicles may experience a decrease in fuel efficiency by an average of 6% when using ethanol blends, raising questions about the feasibility of achieving the E20 compliance target without affecting vehicle performance.

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Conclusion

India’s ethanol blending program represents a significant step towards sustainable energy use and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, achieving the 20% blending target requires careful management of the food versus fuel dilemma, the adoption of advanced biofuels, and continued policy support for ethanol production infrastructure. A balanced approach that considers food security, environmental impact, and vehicle performance will be crucial in realising the full potential of this ambitious program.

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