PRAGATI Newsletter May 2020
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
www.nirdpr.org.in NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND PANCHAYATI RAJ Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India No: 300 PRAGATI Newsletter May 2020 PRAGATI, May 2020 1 NIRDPR Tackling rural youth unemployment 3 through skills CONTENTS 7 CGG&PA, NIRDPR organises 10 15 Installing Solar Power Systems For Devnath Bhati, ToT programme on Risk in government schools of entrepreneurship means ’never Communication for Prevention rural Telangana to enchance ever give up’ of Spread of COVID-19 learning ability of students 8 16 Two-week E-Training on 12 Fifteenth Finance Commission CAPART merges with NIRDPR; Sustainable Livelihoods and and Grants to Panchayat Raj becomes NIRDPR-Delhi branch Adaptation to Climate Change Institution 9 NIRDPR and ISLE organise webnair on revival of livelihoods PRAGATI, May 2020 2 NIRDPR . COVER STORY Tackling rural youth unemployment through skills Rural youths getting training in automobile sector (file photo) Tackling rural youth unemployment through skills “The consequences of high neighbourhood joblessness are more devastating than those of high neighbourhood poverty... Many of today’s problems in the inner-city ghettos-crime, family dissolution, welfare, low levels of social organisation, and so on are fundamentally a consequence of the disappearance of work.” - William Julius Wilson, When Work Disappears, 1996, pp. xiii. abour Day or International Workers’ agrarian crisis and economic distress. youth unemployment is more crucial in LDay is observed across the globe each The latest available employment case of India, as youth (in the age cohort year on the first day of May to celebrate statistics (Periodic Labour Force Survey: of 15 to 29) constitutes nearly 27.5 per the achievements of the working class PLFS - 2017-18) suggest that during cent of the total population. A high and their movements. Labour Day in the period 2011-12/2017-18, all broad proportion of rural youth continue to fall India was first celebrated on 1stMay, sectors of the rural economy registered in the category of ‘Not in employment- 1923. But the May Day of 2020 could varying degrees of slowdown or education and training’ (NEET), which rarely include neither any single worker negative employment growth rates. indicates the growing incidence of from a 400 million plus workforce of Few sub-sectors of the rural non-farm inactive, idle and disengaged youth in India nor it could touch any part of their sector did register positive employment rural areas. In 2017-18, 40 per cent of life. Sadly, it coincided with the global growth rates, but the construction rural youth (male = 13.6 per cent and pandemic COVID-19 and subsequent sector, which used to generate a bulk female = 60.0 per cent) in the age cohort prolonged lockdown. While this day is of 15 to 29 years were in the NEET celebrated to remember the struggle The ongoing COVID-led lockdown could category. Besides these quantitative movements of workers for their right, give rise to a plethora of possible outcomes in challenges, the rural labour market justice and liberation from all forms the labour market, which will have significant is also characterised by qualitative of exploitation and discrimination, implications for workers in general and rural challenges such as high degree countries across the globe witnessed youth in particular. of informality, rising incidence of varying degrees of vulnerability working poor, the problems of and plight of working class due to of rural employment also suffered low paid and insecure jobs, skill the COVID-19. The ongoing COVID-led severe setbacks. The rural female labour deficit and mismatch, distress-driven lockdown could give rise to a plethora of force participation rates continue to outmigration, poor working conditions, possible outcomes in the labour market, decline. It declined from 33.3 per cent long working hours, high incidence of which will have significant implications in 2004-05 to 25.3 per cent in 2011-12 occupational hazards, inadequate safety for workers in general and rural youth in and further to 18.2 per cent in 2017-18. measures at work places and so on. These particular. During 2017-18, we also witnessed a issues will further accentuate, if we factor During the past 10 years or so, rural high magnitude of unemployment rates, in various individual and household India was already passing through an especially for the youth. The problem of attributes such as gender, income PRAGATI, May 2020 3 NIRDPR . COVER STORY Young women being trained in dress designing and tailoring (file photo) class, social groups, education and skill abled persons, street vendors, small returned. The spell of the lockdown and profile, and so on. The Periodic Labour shop owners, micro enterprises, etc., will the responses of the government to Force Surveys (PLFS) 2018-19 showed a face severe negative impacts; vii) labour revive and restore economic activities marginal decline in the unemployment addas in cities and towns, which used will decide the magnitude of impacts rates and improvement in the labour force to provide employment opportunities on the youth. However, in the short term participation rates, as compared to 2017- for rural low skilled migrant daily wage and medium term, we may witness: 18. But these trends may be difficult to be workers, will remain non-operational due i) temporary or permanent job losses retained due to prolonged lockdown to to social-distancing and lockdown; viii) for the youth ii) youth taking up a low prevent the spread of COVID-19, resulting the incidence of NEET among rural youth paid job iii) increase in waithood for new in job losses across sectors. will significantly increase; ix) with the rise job iv) rise in unemployment spell and in rural labour supply, we may witness rate v) rise in requirement of vocational The employment challenges for rise in demand for public employment skill, training and entreprenuership rural youth programmes such as MGNREGA; x) there schemes and apprenticeship, internship, will be increasing pressure on rural on the job training and shcolarship There is no hard data to assess infrastructure, including water, health, vi) rise in the incidence of closure or the full impacts of COVID-19 on rural sanitation and housing; xi) at household sickness of micro, small units and rural employment and labour market level, there will be an increase in the out- start-ups. outcomes. But based on indirect and of-pocket expenses on health, education, proxy evidences, we may corroborate In addition to the livelihood crises, resulting in indebtedness. The cloud of the following possible changes in the youth will also have to face challenges COVID-19 will, we hope, be gone sooner rural labour market in general and for in their education, skill and health. rather than later, but a key question that rural youth, in particular: i) the rural During this pandemic period, academic/ is going to hunt us for quite some time labour supply will increase, as millions of education sessions are getting delayed; is how we can reverse these adverse migrant workers have returned to their poor quality and uncertainty in the higher currents? respective destinations; ii) with the rise education sector will result in delayed in supply of labour, the market wage Rural youths are already at a entry into the labour market. With the rates may dampen; iii) there will be lay disadvantageous position, as compared fall in household income, we may also off and job losses and it may accentuate to their urban counterparts, in terms witness withdrawal of children from further, if lockdown is stretched; of low levels of education and skill and the school, reduction in food expenses iv)contractual/irregular/daily wage inadequate access to employment resulting in malnutrition. In such scenario, earners will be worst affected; v) longer opportunities. The COVID-19 led the females in the household including working hours with same wage or less lockdown has made the employment girl child will badly be affected. COVID-19 wage for average eight hours work and scenario for rural youth even more may also throw health challenges for delayed wage payments; vi) informality challenging. We have witnessed a youth such as anxiety, depression and will rise and women and disadvantageous sudden rise in youth population in rural other psycho-social disorder, due to social groups such as SCs, STs, differently areas, as millions of youth migrants have uncertainties in the labour market and PRAGATI, May 2020 4 NIRDPR . COVER STORY education sector. Some of the youth and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises irrigation, cold storage, market linkages, may also recourse to drug addiction and (MSME) sector. But it will be difficult to and mechanisation, inter alia, to enable anti-social activities. The rural youths accommodate workers with diverse skill farmers to take up high-value agriculture. are going to face a multidimensional sets only in government programmes. challenges during COVID-19 and it will be Private players must also pitch in to Graduate SHGs: There is a need to draw important to mainstream the youth and accommodate skilled workers. a graduation plan for Self-Help Groups put them in the centre of rural economies (SHGs) so that it will generate more for driving a better and more sustainable Promote entrepreneurship: As new local employment. These SHGs are to rural development outcome. employment generation is constrained be graduated as an economically-viable of slump in demand, there will be a and productive enterprise through value Steps to tackle youth crisis huge demand for self-employment chain development in agriculture and the To address the rural youth crisis, as ventures, entrepreneurship and start-ups. non-farm sector through farmer producer narrated above, we need to design a Therefore, entrepreneurship schemes collectives, enterprise development, multi-pronged strategy, as follows: and programmes need to be leveraged skills training and access to larger value in rural areas.