A new type of Whistler Waves, Sikkim Landslide and Teesta Hydroelectric Projects, Caste Census

(General Studies III – Economy Section – Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment. Inclusive Growth and issues arising from it.)

• India, one of the fastest-growing economies, faces a paradox of high unemployment and a significant skill gap. Despite rapid economic expansion, the country struggles with job creation, especially in the formal sector.
• According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), India’s unemployment rate was around 7.8% as of 2023, reflecting the chronic issue of joblessness. Additionally, the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2021-22 highlighted that youth unemployment (15-29 years) stood at 12.9%.
• The India Skills Report 2023 revealed that only 47% of the Indian graduates were considered employable, indicating a glaring gap between education and employability.
• Despite various government initiatives like Skill India and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), the challenge remains. Short-duration skill programs often fail to yield long-term employment, and a lack of emphasis on vocational education exacerbates the issue.

The question then arises: How can India bridge this skill gap and create sustainable employment?

Issues Leading to Unemployment and Lack of Skills –

1. Mismatch Between Education and Industry Needs: A significant disconnect exists between the education system and industry requirements. Many graduates lack practical skills, leading to high unemployability despite possessing academic qualifications.
2. Low Wages and Dignity of Work: Wages in many sectors are insufficient to ensure a life of dignity, particularly in urban areas. The PLFS 2019-20 found that wage earners in the top 10% earn just ₹25,000 per month, indicating that low wages deter many from taking up available jobs.
3. Shortcomings in Skilling Programs: Short-duration skill programs have low success rates in terms of long-term placements. Many individuals return to their villages due to the lack of viable urban opportunities that offer sustainable livelihoods.
4. Regional Disparities in Human Development: States with better human development indicators, such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh, also have higher per capita consumption. In contrast, states like Odisha, which focus more on short-term skilling, lag due to inadequate higher secondary, vocational, and higher education opportunities.
5. Inadequate Public Employment: Public employment per capita in India is significantly lower than in most developed countries. This limits the government’s role in providing stable jobs and ensuring a decent standard of living.

Measures to Address Unemployment and Skill Gaps –

1. Decentralised Community Action for Skilling Needs: Grassroots identification of skilling needs through community involvement is essential. Local institutions like gram sabhas can help align government programs with the needs of the community, ensuring that skills are relevant and beneficial.
2. Converging Initiatives at the Local Level: Integrating education, health, skills, and employment initiatives at the local level, particularly through women’s collectives, can ensure community-driven accountability. This convergence can improve human development indicators and create more holistic employment opportunities.
3. Need-Based Vocational Courses in Colleges: Incorporating vocational courses alongside traditional undergraduate programs will make education more practical and employment-oriented. By making such courses compulsory in every college, graduates will be better equipped for the job market.
4. Standardising Nursing and Allied Healthcare Courses: By aligning nursing and allied healthcare professional courses with international benchmarks, India can create a skilled workforce that meets both domestic and international demands, addressing both unemployment and skill gaps.
5. Community Cadres of Crèche Care-Givers: Creating community cadres of crèche care-givers will allow women to work without fear, increasing female labor force participation. These cadres, trained and employed at the local level, can support working women while providing dignified employment.
6. Investing in ITIs and Polytechnics: Strengthening Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics as skill hubs can ensure that vocational education is up-to-date and accessible. These institutions should act as feeder schools, particularly in regions lacking vocational infrastructure.
7. Introducing Enterprise and Start-up Skills in High Schools: Incorporating enterprise and start-up skills into the school curriculum will foster innovation and entrepreneurship from a young age. This will prepare students for both traditional employment and self-employment opportunities.
8. Co-sharing Model of Apprenticeships: A co-sharing model for apprenticeships, where the government and industry share costs, will ensure that skilling programs are aligned with industry needs. This will enhance employability and ensure that skills acquired are practical and marketable.
9. Streamlining Working Capital Loans for Women-led Enterprises: Ensuring access to working capital loans for women-led and first-generation enterprises will enable them to scale up operations. This will encourage entrepreneurship and contribute to job creation.
10. Universal Skill Accreditation Programme: A universal skill accreditation program, jointly sponsored by the state and industry, will ensure that skill providers maintain high standards and that candidates receive quality training.
11. Utilising MGNREGA Funds in Water-Scarce Blocks: Focusing MGNREGA funds on water-scarce and deprived blocks can improve livelihoods through income-generating activities. This will enhance the productivity of wage earners and provide more sustainable employment options.
12. Scaling Up Apprenticeships: Expanding apprenticeship programs will help absorb more youth into the workforce. Government subsidies should be linked to dignified wages upon successful completion of apprenticeships, ensuring that employment leads to a higher standard of living.

To achieve “Viksit Bharat” by 2047, India must prioritize inclusive growth by bridging the unemployment and skill gaps. Aligning education, skill development, and industry needs, with strong government and community support, is essential. By creating dignified jobs, India can harness its demographic dividend, ensuring shared prosperity and a resilient workforce, driving the nation towards a $30 trillion economy and a brighter future.

• The Union government is still undecided on the next Census, with ongoing discussions about including caste enumeration, amidst persistent demands from political parties contributing to the delay.
• Historically, the Census has only enumerated Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), with no caste-wise population count since India’s independence.
• In 2011, a separate caste count was conducted, but the findings were never released as the data from this exercise was riddled with errors (govt informed SC).
• In recent developments, Bihar has published a caste census report in 2023, using both offline and digital modes.

• A landslide occurred in Sikkim, damaging the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) infrastructure at its Teesta-5 hydropower station in Gangtok.
• It is the second natural disaster to impact a hydropower project along the Teesta River.
• Last year, a deluge from the South Lhonak glacier in North Sikkim washed away the Chungthang dam, critical to the Teesta-3 power station (1200 MW), which was once the largest in the state, is now supplying only a tenth of its original capacity.
• Reports suggest, the Teesta-3 project opted for a concrete-faced rock-fill dam instead of a more robust concrete gravity dam to cut costs, which contributed to its destruction.
• The 510 MW Teesta-5 project has also been rendered non-functional since the glacial lake outburst.

Dig Deeper: Read about Environmental impact assessments of Hydroelectric projects on fragile Himalayan rivers.

• Whistler Waves: Lightning strikes on Earth generate electromagnetic waves, some of which travel along the Earth’s magnetic field lines between the northern and southern hemispheres. These waves, known as whistler waves, can sometimes be heard as whistling noises through a receiver. 
• In a study published in Science Advances, scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks discovered a new type of whistler wave generated by a previously unknown mechanism.
• They found that lightning energy injected into the ionosphere at low latitudes could reflect into the magnetosphere, contradicting previous beliefs.
• This discovery could double the estimated amount of lightning energy entering the magnetosphere, potentially requiring scientists to revise their understanding of lightning’s effects on the Van Allen belts.
• This finding has significant implications for space exploration as it relates to the magnetosphere and the conditions necessary for safe passage into outer space.

Dig Deeper: Go through the stratification of the Atmospheric profile of Earth and the critical importance of the Ionosphere.