by Zeenat Saberin
Unemployment protests towards Prime Minister Modi
Summary: 21-year-old undergraduate Sagar Kumar works as a street vender and makes only 500 rupees ($7) a day to support his family. He has a commerce graduate degree, but his only job opportunity is to work as a street vender. 24-year-old Seema works as a cook but is trying to get a government job as an office secretary. She has yet to find that job although she has had an impressive education.
Many others have been struggling to get a good paying job and have fallen into the group of 12 million Indians who enter the job market without luck. India's unemployment increased more than it had in 45 years and the rate of adults willing to work have fallen to 42%. At the end of March 2018, a data report has shown that 31 million Indians were looking for jobs. Surprisingly, India has one of the fastest economic growth patterns, at about 12% nominal growth for the past five years, but the government are still unable to provide the working class with sufficient jobs.
Percent of unemployment in India from July of 2017 and April of 2018
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of 2014 has promised 10 million jobs annually but has failed to fix any of the unemployment problems. He has been accused of creating the worst unemployment crisis in decades. Many reports have shown the levels of unemployment, but officials always dismissed it, claiming the report was unfinished and that jobs were in fact being created. This was not the case, and throughout the 2000's the percent of unemployed members of society have continued to rise. People in search of better jobs or government jobs have been protesting Modi's negligence towards their unemployment for years. Though rallies, marches, speeches, and signs haven't been enough to bring their troubles to Modi's attention yet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Protesters begin accusing him of rape and murder to remove him from office
Reaction: Prime Minister Modi has promised the people much needed jobs for the past few decades, and little to no progress has been made to do so. The unemployment level has been slowly increasing at a steady rate, and there is little time left to actually begin reconstructing jobs. The officials are withholding information of the unemployment so for a time there weren't any outside countries spreading awareness. The people are left to hunt for jobs however they can, while being promised a job in the near future. It is the government's job to provide a steady income to their people and maintain a strong and balanced economy.
Connection: It connects to a couple units that highlighted leaders such as Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin, that used propaganda to make promises to the people that gave them their power. Prime Minister Modi has been promising more jobs for years and though nothing has actually been done to uncrease the number of jobs, he remained in power and people still hold him to that promise. Another connection is the strong line between the lower class and the middle and upper classes. The bourgeoisie and the Proletariat had no equal treatment in any terms. The bourgeoisie had more money and therefore more opportunities and jobs while the Proletariat was left scrambling to make and save whatever money they could. The brainwashing of people by promising leaders and inequality between upper and lower class are both strong connections to other units in this class.
Questions for Discussion:
1) What are some ways that the unemployment issue could be resolved after decades of decreasing job opportunities?
2) Should Prime Minister Modi be removed from office because of his negligence towards India's increasing unemployment?
In regards to question 1, there are proven solutions to solve unemployment. Some of the most effective are lowering federal interest rates. This stimulates the economy by giving citizens who normally wouldn't be able to afford large investments like a house or a car the ability to purchase these large items. However, interest rates in India are already near a five-year low so there is not much more that they could feasibly be lowered. One effective solution to boost the economy is wealth redistribution to the homeless or people in extreme poverty. Homeless people want to spend every penny they get, or in this case every rupee, on things they need such as clothing or food. When they spend the money to buy clothing, for example, some goes to the store owner, the clothing manufacturer, and the people who produced the clothing, among others. This effectively spirals making each dollar worth $1.64. According to a study by the U.S. congress, every 1 billion spent on this in USD creates 19,000 jobs. In regards to the second topic, I believe that PM Modi should not be taken out of power for unemployment. Additionally, elections in India reoccur this spring so he will be contested soon. Interestingly, PM Modi's popularity is at an all time low but he was polling first in January.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thebalance.com/unemployment-solutions-3306211
https://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/published_study/PERI_military_spending_2011.pdf
https://tradingeconomics.com/india/interest-rate
https://www.dw.com/en/narendra-modis-4-years-in-power-good-or-bad-for-india/a-43974581
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/narendra-modi-the-divisive-manipulator-who-charmed-the-world
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-election-poll/indian-pm-modis-popularity-at-all-time-low-rival-gandhi-closing-in-poll-idUSKCN1PJ1UF
One of the most proven ways of lowering unemplyment rates is by promoting small business. According to the article, it is very hard to get loans from private banks to start small businesses, so government banks should lower thier(federal) interest rates. This would allow and encourage more people to start their own businesses and employ themslves and others. If many induviduals are able to start their own business, even if it is just a small shop, and employ those around them, the unemployment rate will go down, especially considering the percentage of the all the unemployed people that are selling items on the street. The government can also increase government related jobs or projects, which would get help the government (especially if it is in infastructure) and give people the money they need to survive. In regards to the second question, I do not think Modi should be romoved from office.
ReplyDeleteEven though he is having trouble passing his initiatives because of opposition and corruption in his government, (similar to the situation here, in the US), he has still done two things that are predicted to lower the unemployment rate. The first is Modi’s connection with major entreprenuers, who are providing jobs for many people. Modi has joined forces with them to create programs that employ thousands of youth. So far, about 15,000 jobs have been created this way. The second is a initiative that encourages people to start their own businesses by offering a small amount of free money, very low interst rates, and almost no collateral. These offers are very exciting for prospective small business owners.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/09/10-ways-to-cut-unemployment-in-half/62506/
https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2018/07/03/modi-explains-the-unemployment-problem-not-the-lack-of-jobs-but-the-lack-of-data-on-jobs_a_23473355/
While it’s not the Indian government’s job to ensure that every citizen has a job, they should provide people with the opportunity to do so. A way to provide people with useful jobs right out immediately is to promote trade schools. In a country as large as India, jobs that require higher education are numerous but not for everyone. While there is some stigma around going to trade school as opposed to a college, trade schools provide its students with valuable skills to work in skilled labor departments. These jobs have similar job security to those that require a college education, such that they are unlikely to be filled by unskilled laborers. While most of the western world sees trade schools as a route for lower intelligence people, having a trade is often just as valuable as having a college degree. The current prime minister of India would do well to promote these trade schools and help people to realize their value.
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ReplyDeleteIn India business and individuals use cash for most of their transactions. As a result of this a lot of money is hidden from the taxation system and is often referred to as black money. This money circulates in the economy to avoid Government’s oversight. In order to "cleanse" the country of black money, in 2016, India’s Prime Minister Modi led a demonetization drive that made a lot of currency notes invalid. Certain currency denominations were declared invalid and many people holding such currency outside of the banking system had to dispose it off overnight. The government wanted this to affect people with illegal money, but it also ended up affecting businesses that were largely dependent on cash transactions. As a result the cash economy slowed down causing the current unemployment crisis. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/nusbusinessschool/2018/09/01/indias-demonetization-drive-a-necessary-jolt-towards-a-more-digital-economy/#7db6f5e33dc3) I strongly believe to improve the employment situation the economy needs to heal, even though the issue has been going on for a while. If the Government can establish a system where people can circulate cash in a compliant way, the money will circulate back in the economy. As this money circulation goes up, a lot of new jobs will be created and the unemployment rates will start coming down.
In order to decrease the unemployment rate in India people need to work together in small businesses. Large businesses can only hold so many employees till the company as a whole loses profits. There are many small little coffee carts and little stores and if the owners were willing to try and hire more people it would increase the amount of jobs which would not only help the people but also the business into thriving. That could set of an example of success as more people try to build their own businesses. I think it is a no brainer that Modi should be removed from office for not doing anything about the low employment rate. The job of a good political leader is listening to what people have to say and then acting on finding a solution to the problem. Modi not even trying to solve this shows his lack of care for my country.
ReplyDeleteSteve Thomas
I noticed that in the article the author mentions the opposing Congress promising guaranteed minimum wages for people in extreme poverty and homelessness. As idealistic of a hope this creates and as great as the idea sounds, an actually established minimum wage- especially one that seems so high in relation to the low amounts that people are making in the current economy- will cause more harm than good. It's important to always keep in mind that a wage increase across the board means that prices will increase across the board and the value of a rupee will diminish significantly as part of the inflation that's happening because the government convinces themselves- even the people convince themselves- that bigger numbers will equate to a stronger economy. However; we'll simply find ourselves in the same position that we were before changes to a "minimum wage" and inflation. I noticed Aaron's idea and I cannot agree more with the importance of promoting practical skills over lofty degrees that only clog up room for higher level jobs and leave the real core of the economy by the wayside. I definitely could see that promotion of such paths would really help the Indian economy find large improvement, at least in terms of unemployment.
ReplyDeleteThe article (and summary) both mentioned a statistic that jumped out at me for being incongruous with the piece's narrative and argument. Supposedly, the rate of adults "willing to work" in India is at only 42% percent. It's entirely possible that I'm not interpreting this correctly-- perhaps "willing" has a legal definition different than the standard one-- but it seems strange to decry the job situation when a majority of the population does not seek work. On the other hand, inclusion of this statistic could actually serve to highlight the magnitude of the situation at hand. The lack of jobs in India is so severe that the government's attempt at job reform and growth can't even help the minority of people that are able and "willing" to work.
ReplyDeleteModi's almost 5 year tenure as India's Prime Minister, in my opinion, needs to come to an end as a result of the upcoming election. I understand that all politicians make promises that they find difficult to keep, albeit to various extents,. Sometimes, outside factors limit progress internally (an example could be another country's government interfering with a nation's politics and/or journey towards democracy). However, that just isn't the case here. This issue isn't unprecedented-- like many of the above commenters have pointed out, there are proven, specific plans of action and strategies that countries can implement in order to help rectify a job deficit and further strengthen an economy. Modi, especially as portrayed by his quotes in the article, sounds desperate and out of touch with his people. He argued that being a snack vendor, making a few dollars a day, was a valid form of employment, thereby implying that the job situation is not as bad as it could be. This reads like a little pat on the back, as well as an insult to the intelligence of the Indian people who actually struggle with unemployment or minimally-paying jobs on a daily basis. Modi, according to German news broadcaster dw.com, has attempted to fix general economic issues by implementing demonetization, which essentially completely devalued all large bills (https://www.dw.com/en/narendra-modis-4-years-in-power-good-or-bad-for-india/a-43974581, https://www.dw.com/en/one-year-after-demonetization-has-india-eliminated-black-money/a-41276486). Though it was meant to aid the poor, the scheme did the opposite-- proving the extent to which Modi is out of touch with the needs of the people.
I think that India's economy would benefit from a partnership between public and private companies. While India unable to create jobs for the ever growing population in India, I believe they should still set up a number of initiatives to counter the growing unemployment rate. This initiative will not only offer more jobs, but it will promote entrepreneurship. Something mentioned in the article that shocked me was that only 42% of people want to work and I think this may stem from a couple of reasons. The first of which may be that the work force is unpleasant. Many factory, construction, farming, or any job that requires hard labor may not appeal to the overall population. Moreover, as India rapidly modernizes in certain areas, people may not see the value of manual labor when machines can do the same tasks with twice as much efficiency.
ReplyDeleteAs for question 1, a way to tackle the decades of unemployment is to support the small businesses. The largest problem that India faces is where to create the jobs. The small businesses are the backbone of India and an increase in their size and organization can create countless jobs for the lower class. India is a situation where it has developed too quickly for the government to handle. Whether it may be corruption or just overwhelming work, the government has't been able to keep up with the booming development of India. The markets increase in demand, but jobs aren't created. Jobs are in circulation between the wealthy and the lower class have to create their own jobs by being street vendors. Support of small businesses make jobs available to a wide array of people. I believe that Prime Minister Modi should be removed from office. Based on his statements about the apparent "jobs" that street venders have making $2 a day, it clearly shows how lost he is with the situation. It seems that Prime Minister Modi doesn't understand the severity of the unemployment issue and someone who can't understand the problem shouldn't be in charge of tackling the problem.
ReplyDeleteAfter decades of decreasing job opportunities, the issue of unemployment can potentially be reduced by informing a monetary policy. Doing so can focus on the primary objective to reach and maintain a low and stable inflation rate. As the goals of a monetary policy are to promote maximum employment, and create stable prices along with moderate long-term interest rates. Eventually leading into a long-term GDP growth trend that could once restore the empowerment of India.
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