Question

Write Short Notes

1. Government measures to solve unemployment problem.

2. Causes of unemployment in India.

3. Disguised unemployment.

4. Educated unemployment.

Answer 1

1. The government of India has adopted various schemes and measures to reduce the problem of unemployment. The following are some of them.
a. Rural works programme- This programme aims at providing rural employment by building assets like road, bunds etc.
b. Crash plan- This plan carries rural projects such as minor-irrigation, soil-conservation, etc. It guarantees employment for 10 months in a year.
c. Jawahar Rojgar Yojna (JRY)- This scheme was launched on 28^th April 1989 by Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. It mainly targets people below the poverty line.
d. Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS)- This scheme was initiated by Maharashtra government in 1972-73 to raise employment opportunities.

2. The following are some of the major causes of unemployment in India.
a. Lack of infrastructure- Infrastructural inadequacy impedes industrial growth. Low industrial growth rate, in turn, obstructs the generation of employment opportunities in a country.
b. Backward methods of agriculture- The methods of agriculture used in India are old and backward. The productivity of land is also low and there is negligible scope of hiring more labourers. Thus, this contributes to unemployment.
c. Population growth- The rising rate of population and population explosion in India is creating widespread unemployment.
d. Low economic growth- With low growth and development, India is unable to absorb the growing manpower in the country. This in turn increases unemployment.

3. Disguised unemployment is a situation where too many people are employed in an activity, such that removal of a few does not affects the total productivity. It is a common problem in underdeveloped and developing countries like India. Also, in such type, the marginal productivity of labour is zero. For instance, suppose there is a piece of land and to produce an output of 40 quintals, 10 workers are required. However, if the same output is being produced by employing 14 labourers, then the 4 extra labourers would be counted as disguisedly unemployed. Also, these four labourers are not adding anything to the output. That is, there marginal product is zero.

4. Educated unemployment refers to a situation wherein people are not able to get jobs because of the defective education provided by educational institutions and systems. It is a common problem in urban areas. Due to the low quality of education, the individuals, despite being degree holders, are not competitive enough to get jobs and thus are rendered unemployed.