AGRICULTURAL
EMPLOYMENT
ü The current labour force consists of
approximately 400 million men and women.
ü 56% are engaged in agriculture as
their primary occupation which is down from 65% in the early 1990s. Another 13%
are engaged in manufacturing and the balance are employed in the service
sector, which has grown from 25% to 32% of total employment over the past two
decades
ü The organized sector provides less
than 8% of the total jobs, about 3% in private firms and 5% in the public
sector. The informal/unorganized sector is provides the other 92%.
ü Only 6-8% of India's workforce has
received formal training in vocational skills, compared with 60% or more in
developed and most rapidly developing countries.
ü There is enormous scope for raising
the productivity of Indian agriculture, doubling crop yields and farm incomes,
and generating significant growth in demand for farm labour
ü Rising rural incomes consequent to
higher productivity will unleash a multiplier effect, increasing demand for
farm and non-farm products and services, thereby stimulating rapid growth of
employment opportunities in agriculture and other sectors.
ü Policy and legal measures to
encourage contract farming arrangements between agri-business firms and
self-help groups in order to increase small farmers' access to advanced
technology, quality inputs, bank credit, processing, marketing and crop
insurance.
ü We need to improve employable skills
at all levels and intensive development of vocational skills will act as a
powerful stimulus for employment and self-employment generation
ü Establish a network of
government-certified, rural vocational institutes providing training and
certification in hundreds of vocational skills not covered by the it is
MANUFACTURING
ü India aims to raise manufacturing (sector's) share of GDP from
16 per cent to 25 per cent and create 100 million skilled jobs.
ü With
many multinational corporations treating India as a major manufacturing hub
amidst the IT boom the nation is poised for a big leap. With more
diversification and better availability of skilled manpower Indian
manufacturing industry is now ready to compete in global markets. Manufacturing
is inextricably linked with other sectors.
ü The
manufacturing industry has made rapid strides in India mainly because the
country meets the key requirements of skills in resources, product and process.
The technical manpower available in abundance along with cheap labour has
attracted a host of foreign companies in every conceivable sector. But India is
nowhere near China in becoming a global manufacturing hub. But it has the
potential. No other nation produces as many engineering graduates every year as
India does
ü According
to FICCI, even though agriculture supports 60% of the working population, it
contributes only 22% of the country's gross domestic product. The manufacturing
sector employs around 30 per cent of non-agricultural work force in India now.
With sluggish growth of agriculture and poor income generation more and more of
the agriculture labour will have to turn to the manufacturing sector for
sustenance.
ü How to increase the productivity in
the manufacturing industry should be the prime concern. Studies have revealed
that the productivity of the manufacturing industry in India is about 20 p.c.of
the productivity in the US. It is almost half of the productivity in South
Korea.
ü Use of outdated technology, poor
infrastructure, costly financing and bureaucratic control have dogged the
sector. FICCI points out that the higher input costs for the Indian
manufacturing sector due to impact of indirect taxes, high cost of power,
water, higher cost of finance and high transactions costs puts the sector at a
severe disadvantage.
ü While laying down guidelines to the
government to accelerate growth and improve competitiveness of the
manufacturing sector, it has sought more private sector participation in
infrastructure sectors like electricity distribution, aviation, roads, railways
and ports.
ü IT revolution could play a key role
in increasing the productivity on the shop floor and supply chain management.
In an environment of intense global competition with customers becoming more
demanding, manufacturers must find ways to achieve greater efficiency and speed
in the product development process.
ü The engineering sector has
remained a high potential business, which has played a crucial role in boosting
the economy and supporting the growth of other key sectors of the economy. It
contributes almost 8 percent to the annual GDP.
ü India is the largest exporter
of machinery and other engineering products in the third world countries. India
competes successfully in the global capital goods market, catering to the needs
of steel plants, power plants, cement, petrochemical units as well as mining.
It also exports farm equipment, such as tractors and harvesters, construction
machinery, passenger cars, electrics, electronics and pollution control
equipment.
SERVICES SECTOR
ü Transportation
The transportation industry is an evergreen
sector in India, with very large potential for growth. This sector comprises
roadways, ports, super highways, rail as well as aviation. It is a high growth
sector contributing to 8.5% of GDP. This sector has unique opportunities of
foreign investments in highway construction and management but is also bogged
down by issues of land acquisition and environmental clearances. Aviation
too has good potential under new FDI norms. Railways are yet to open up for
private investment, but will offer tremendous opportunities as and when it gets
restrictions are lifted.
ü InfoTech Industry
India’s strength in the Information technology
sector is based on the development of sophisticated knowledge base and
competence of specially trained professionals. The industry constitutes the
export driven IT services sector and business process outsourcing. The IT and
ITES companies contribute substantially to Indian GDP growth. It has been the
prime mover of the services sector in India, which in turn contributes to the
extent of almost 60% of the GDP. The city of Bangalore (now called Bengaluru)
is the IT capital of India. The industry accounts for almost 25% of the total
exports from India. It has grown at an exponential velocity and has led to
accelerated development of metropolitan cities spurring the growth of other
sectors. This has continued to be the most preferred sector of global
investors. This sector will be the immediate beneficiary of the current global
recovery.
Today an increasing number of equity
diversified mutual funds are seen favoring technology companies and telecom
firms, among the sensitivity index stocks, as the IT sector benefits from a
rupee stabilized at a lower level and there is an increasing demand for IT
services from US and the other developed economies.
ü Banking and Insurance
The banking sector in India has witnessed a
vast growth, supported by sizeable investments in IT and diversification of
innovative service offerings. The banking sector index has increased at a
compounded rate of over 10-12 percent per annum since the year 2001. Mutual
funds of this sector have given a return of 9 to 12% over last 3 years. As and
when public sector banks are privatized the value discovery process could
result in gains for investors.
India’s life insurance business ranks fifth
among the largest global markets. The sector has been growing at rates
exceeding 20%. The nonlife insurance Industry has grown at rate of 15%. The
insurance sector opened up to private investors in last few years and the
market is getting competitive with the entry of global players. Overall this
strengthens the risk management capability of the economy.
ü Real estate
With ever growing demand for housing and
commercial space, Indian real estate has emerged as one of the fastest growing
sectors of the emerging markets. It has attracted significant participation of
foreign investors. Real estate has been contributing as much as 13% of the
country’s GDP. Rapid corporatization has helped it to attract funds from the
capital market. Rapid urbanization has helped the sector to grow.
ü Retailing business
From the present market size of US$ 500
billion, the Indian retailing trade is expected to reach US$ 1.3 trillion by
the end of 2020, as per the report of Ministry of food and consumer affairs in
India. The opportunity has attracted significant investments from global
players. India’s rapidly growing urbanization has contributed to the growth of
the organized retailing in the country. The retail industry is the backbone of
growth of the economy with over 20% contribution towards the national GDP. The
Indian retail sector is ranked among the top five global retail markets.
ü Non conventional sectors like
Education and Training, Entertainment and media, as well as Telecom and Pharma
sectors also have very good growth potential.
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