If , as per statistical reports that were 'leaked' about India's unemployment numbers is in some way correct , and 6 % ( +/-) is the current unemployment rate then India is far ahead of the game .
Many developed economies cannot share such a figure !
I have seen huge labor shortages in states like Kerala , Tamilnadu and Gujarat ( where I generally have to travel ) besides Maharashtra . In all these states I find people complain of lack of personnel rather than a glut .
So whosoever is preparing these statistical numbers need to go out on the 'street' and see for themselves before 'leaking' out information to satiate their ego and may be , line their pockets.
Prime minister Modi is the best person to lead India currently and for another 5 years because he is not corrupt and not padding his own pocket or promoting a dynasty. Modi instead of adopting the 1 child policy like China he just kept bragging about how proud he is that India has the largest population of people under 35 in the world. Well PM Modi when you have such a high young population, you need to find employment for so many and you have over a billion mouths to feed. That is a herculean task. I am not blaming Modi for the over population in India today but I blame his predecessors. With regard to the demonstration in Amritsar, the state govt is not from the same party as the party of Modi, BJP.
With regard to jobs in India, the traditional jobs are almost eliminated and many farmers in India have ended their own lives. The tech industry is thriving and even though there are millions more techies than India can employ the "drained techie brains" have found employment elsewhere in the world. Primarily in N America. Many of the skills in the current Indian economy do not require skills that are not easily marketable.
Indian leaders should not be deceptive in covering the higher unemployment. My father always said Honesty is the best policy. I can see how with the general elections in May 2019, presenting a mirage would help the ruling party. A shrewd politician like Modi should identify overpopulation as the root cause of unemployment and do something about it.
14
Everything time I hear an Indian friend defend Modi is like to hear a Trump hooligans. He is perfect, incorruptible and all world is against him.
Please be realist.
65
@MaxHow much you know about India - the real India?
8
@Max Keep calling Trump supporters as hooligans and deplorables and guess what you will be the reason Trump will be reelected. If you think smart and strategically instead of bashing Trump there is a chance that you could get a president of your choice.
3
It is election time and issues are going to come up and it is good for Democracy, and proper answers have to be provided. Modi will probably make it this time, but the electorate will not give him another ride, as two terms is the most one can get in this economy dictated world. It is a good training ground for Rahul Gandhi for the next five years, before getting the job.
8
@AKA
Lord help India if Rahul Gandhi gets anywhere close to being a PM either this year or in 20 years. He is a scion to a corrupt dynasty that has been a curse to India since its independence.
4
Thanks for a very illuminating article on India and how it has been ravaged by the incompetency of BJP party during its last 5 year stint.
That the job growth rate would be dismal regardless of how we slice it was expected. The current ruling party has had no specific economic plan in mind to transform economically disadvantaged India; it simply basked in its own propaganda magic while young educated people began rushing in to join the behemoth of the unemployed ones. The party thought that foreign investment would lift India up, but potential investors stayed away at a comfortable distance.
Modi can blame almost everybody for India’s lackluster performance except himself and his party. His party finds it difficult to understand how no foreign investor is willing enough to pump resources in a country beset with a steady stream of open communal threats from party top-braces, with frequent lynching, raping, burning and destruction of properties orchestrated by its rank and file. How could the country get out of such a mess?
It cannot as long as it ignores the compelling physical reality in favor of its dream of transforming India to a Hindu nation.
42
@Sam Sengupta
I have noticed the the US skims the cream of intelligence from India with VISA green cards, once employed in the US the company pays no federal taxes specifically because they are foreign workers. Why would they build when they can skim?
2
India is developing into a “lower middle income economy”: there is more education and less abject desperation than in the past, but the country is plagued by inequality and lack of opportunity for the masses. The combination of somewhat higher incomes and joblessness will lead to massive emigration to the West in the coming years and decades, as well as political and social instability at home.
Whenever there is an article on India or Africa commenters often complain about “over population”. But really India’s fertility rate has fallen to just slightly higher than American levels, and the ratio of Indian to European (or other) populations is not higher than it has been historically. The overpopulation troupe is just another way to blame the poor for their state, and it has a racist eugenic edge to it.
21
In June last year, United Nations released a report on world population, which said that by 2024 India's population is set to overtake that of China's. The birth rate is still above replacement at 2.3 and it doesn’t solve the current overpopulation issues in India. Before you sling mud, consider the above facts. I’m an American who is concerned about global warming and also tired of Americans losing jobs to H1Bs. In favor of American labor - no matter what race, color or creed of the American worker - and that my kids have a habitable planet. India isn’t helping.
5
@Basant Tyagi
What is your basis to any of this?
1
@Basant Tyagi
Yes, there is immigration BUT selective immigration. The US skims the intelligence cream and pays no federal taxes on their foreign employees here.
I suspect that the caste system was specially designed to control population.
2
It’s been quite confusing for an average Indian in India to see the progress of their own country. They are unable to see the highest economic growth rate in the world, massive improvement in infrastructure, massive multiple fold increase in revenue from the taxes, simplified tax collection, healthcare for every Indian, remarkable improvement in efficiency in both private and the government sectors, so on and so forth. Most of the unemployment figures are cooked up by the political rivals. The unprecedented automation in the industries has reduce inefficiency and in turn less need for unreliable human beings. No where in this article the two correspondents mention the automation. I’m an American of Indian heritage and come to India twice a year and it amazes me how India has progressed under the current administration. Under Congress party rule it was nothing but scandals, corruption, ethnic divide, nepotism and chaos. Opposition to Modi in India is plain cry for “power grab and hunger for corruption.” The simplest thing I’ve noticed that in past 4 years during a month in winter when I’m in India I do not see any electric brown outs, I see better energy supply all over, improved medical care. Despite all the progress average Indian has not carried out his or her own responsibilities well.... not to follow the the traffic rules, littering the public places, vandalizing almost anything etc. are not government’s responsibility. India is magic but sometimes confusing.
15
I grew up in India on Indira Gandhi's watch, studied, worked, and lived in the US for almost two decades, and returned to India where I have lived for about 15 years. I think India is a wonderful country to live in, and I would not exchange it for anything. The general consensus here is that Modi is the best PM for India - there is no-one else that comes close. The problem, however, is that despite Modi, the BJP has a an obscurantist streak that pushes an agenda that can set the country back decades on issues that have nothing to do with economic progress. Yet, as the article points out, the seeds for today's unemployment problem were sowed by the Congress government that preceded the BJP. Nonetheless, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and what India needs is a strong and credible opposition to the BJP, that it has thus far lacked. The problem is not Modi and his party, but the lack of credibility of the still very dynastic Congress party. I don't think Congress deserves to win, but the country definitely deserves a good fight in the 2019 general elections.
13
Perhaps if Indian's leader's stopped being violent to people of non-Hindu faiths, visitors might show up occasionally to spend money.
2
@Steven of the Rockies
Over 12 million tourists every year are spending their money and enjoying India. India certainly won't miss yours.
1
Har,
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!
Hey, let's start a coup there, too...
1
India has had two economies- the black economy of undeclared un-taxed money, parallel to the white economy. The intent of demonetization was to kill the black economy in order to strengthen the white economy and, in turn, to broaden the tax base. Data show that the tax revenues have grown significantly since demonetization. Tax filings has grown by a very large percentage. The result is that the government has a lot more money to undertake various large projects. Corruption, which has been endemic, has also come under control partly because of demonetization and partly because of direct efforts at the highest level of the government. That Mr. Modi has provided a clean government even his critics will grudgingly admit. The allegations that float around these days is election time propaganda not proven by any evidence.
The side effect of demonetization, and also of a consolidated tax scheme, known as the GST, which simplifies the gamut of complex sales and excise taxes which differed from state to state, to a single uniform tax scheme, has indeed been a negative for the growth of the economy, and particularly on the employment numbers. The black economy employed a very large number earlier which it presently does not, increasing the unemployment numbers.
Overall, during Modi India has had solid growth, though a somewhat higher unemployment, and a progressive and clean government. On the other side are people who love the mess it was before and are nostalgic for its return.
3
@Vijai Tyagi
Well said.
What is India doing to solve its overpopulation problem? Between lack of jobs, too many people and climate change, it’s not going to get better. But please don’t open up the United States to more H1Bs. The American worker has to come first. India has created its own problems. At what point are the countries where overpopulation runs rampant held responsible for failing to enact reasonable policies. Why should the United States have to absorb the cost of the failure in family planning of India and Central America? Until those citizens in those countries understand we won’t rescue them or offer them jobs they will keep looking at us as the way out. A woman with only one child has a far greater chance of being self-sufficient than a mother of 3 or 4. How about birth control instead?
9
In short, this current Government has let the people of India down and the current state of affairs is extremely frustrating. I think it’s just going to get worse if they aren’t voted out this year. Just a piece of advice to the journalists of this story, don’t ever use a Times Now our Republic TV poll - that’s a huge disservice to your readers.
1
Over the past 3 years I have started a business, appointed 3 people and given indirect jobs to many more. I know for a fact that this will not have been counted in the survey as it is a 'SAMPLE SURVEY' . The Sample Survey Office was set up as there was no means to gather data on the state of the nation in the early days. Now it has become an antiquated organ. NY Times in it's report must mention the methodology and the error percentage in case it wants to give out all the facts.
How is it possible that in a mostly agricultural country with only 1.34 billion people there is a surplus of labor? It is almost as though someone had suggested that the amount of farmland in India was more or less fixed.
1
I can vouch for a sorry state of Indian economy at least for the past coulple of years.
This is my 4th winter in a row in Mumbai - before so called "demonetization" (demon) and after.
And add G. S. T.
This 56 inch waist or chest prime minister is good at delivering speeches, hurling personal insults and headline grabbing phrases - but his administration is utterly incompetent.
First, the "demon" - as it is popularly called here. Not one thing that it was supposed to do came true - destruction if black money, hoarding of cash to buy property and crime.
What was not supposed to happen happened - Indians died standing in line to change their own money. The government ran out of new cash. And worse, not one penny of so called black money was destroyed or found.
As to GST - this tax had been talked about for years - before this incompetent government came to power.
But the "roll out" was a complete disaster - first, the actual date of coming into force - kept changing. It has been only six months - they have changed, eliminated, reduced or raised rates more than a dozen times. Many have no idea what their GST tax is.
I live in a "posh" area of Mumbai - India's richest man who spent $100 million in his daughters wedding lives within a block.
Even in this area - shop keepers report since demon and GST - things have gone backward.
Finally, this excuse of corruption, famine, poor monsoons is so old as to be laughable.
12
A vital economic data leaked. A good sign, I mean unlike dystopian PRC.
6
A report due in December now expected in March?
As with all delayed reports, filings etc - bad news on the way.
2
Indian Govt. led by Modi is now trying to save its face by telling that the "it (the report) has not finalised the survey on labour force which reportedly showed that unemployment rate in the country hit a 45-year high of 6.1 per cent in 2017-18". https://goo.gl/KdMdJt
It seems that Govt. of India is trying to put some glossy spin to alter the data or manufacture its own data that would be the official version on current unemployment rate, as most Governments in most developing countries, including India and China, do.
Nonetheless, such data would have no impact on Indian political landscape or during upcoming national election. It's only for filling up endless cycle of "news analysis" and "discussion" by some TV channels. Not many voters care about such "nerdy" issues and those who care hardly decide fate of an election. Saving "mother" cows, "teaching Muslims a lesson", building few more extravagant temples, make more sense for the ruling party and they would do just that.
6
Taking a leaf from Trump’s playbook, PM Modi’s Government has termed this as “Fakenews.”
Just as Trump’s die hard supporters don’t care about facts, PM Modi’s fans don’t care about facts that are not aligned with the official narrative of the Modi Government.
But at the end of the day, a Government and it’s leader may have perfected the art and science of propaganda, it does not translate into performance and governance.
Those who don’t have jobs, they don’t have a job. They are not likely to be confused about it when they vote.
10
Corruption is a disease that infects democracies along with every other form of government.
1
Watch how right wing Indian Americans come out of the woodwork! On cue. To defend Modi and trash Nehru. They love india so much, they sit in the comfort of their homes here in the US and pontificate.
13
Should a paper like New York Times opt for headlines that are less controversial?
1
What report is being discussed here? https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/data-not-finalised-niti-aayog-clarifies-on-jobs-report/articleshow/67775872.cms
It is the "lock her up" crowd that is jumping the gun because elections are coming up. I thought NYT was an objective new source.
1
@Raj
Now that you have decided to quote Times of India, you will do very well to check this also, which is what NYT reported
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/2-more-members-of-nsc-quit-on-feeling-sidelined/articleshow/67748951.cms
God Bless India if Rahul Gandhi known and called PAPPU (a child like Idiot) by the vast majority of Indian people; gets elected as Prime Minister.
This Rahul Gandhi, the Billy Goat Brained, Flunked out of Harvard, Congenital Liar, Nehru-Gandhi Dynastic imbicile whose corrupt Prime Minister Father was rejected by the people; is so ILL-prepared to lead India that India will be set back fifty years if he came in to power.
Narendra Modi is the BEST HOPE for India if for no other reason than, there is no one else.
7
Modi and his ilk saved more cows than people.
6
India can never progress and become a developed country as long as it has the millstone of Kashmir round her neck. Just to subdue Kashmiris, India has placed around three quarters of a million soldiers in a valley which is just 30 miles broad and eighty miles long ! India spends most of her resources on a military build up, leaving virtually nothing on education, poverty alleviation, health care etc. On top of this the elite Brahamins of India, want to compete with China, which is much stronger economically and militarily. Modi needs to shed his arrogance, and improve India's relationship with her neighboring countries, such as Pakistan, China, Srilanka, Sikkim, and Nepal.
5
@Syed AbdulhaqModiji loves to say he left a big military presents in Kashmir just to protect the local from attacks from POK.He is doing a fine job. He is not worried .NO WONDER he has ring of MEN IN BLACK Looking like Jamie Bonds guarding him every second. No wonder he has a guy in his washroom guarding him while he does his daily business. HE is not scared of Terror or terrorist.
By having 30 Men in BLACK he wants to show the terror bad guy he is waiting for them to come.
He spends more money on these men in black than he spends on building schools, clinic hospitals, clean water supply ,or roads for poor in indya.
He wants to be remembered as greatest "darpook" pm indya ever had. Please dont say any bad about Modiji his men are watching you
@Syed Abdulhaq: It is the 20% of your kind of population that is the big drag on India's economy. Little education, sharia law written in Indian constitution, and constant stream of terrorism from your friends and relatives from the neighborhood and from within India keeps the other 80% of the population enslaved. It is not surprising that you and your people keep trying to denigrate India. If you get out of anti-India black hood you will learn that recent reports from the UN, and World Bank as well as from World Economic Forum point to India surpassing the top economies in the not very distant future. As for the report of "leaked data" on unemployment, you know that this is a creation of your candidate, since Indian newspapers are denying that such a report is even ready. Go ahead and continue to feel sorry for yourself. You could ofcourse move to any country where people of your kind are welcome and then see how you will fare.
5
This is a classic case of a country which has out of control population growth. India has had an out of control population growth for decades. China, also over 1 billion people, implemented a "one child policy" to prevent what India is now experiencing.
India's population growth is affecting other countries, like the US, because companies like Unisys send workers, and their families, to the US, on H1B and other visas. They undercut domestic contract firms. Then, US corporations cut American citizens and replace them with workers from companies like Unisys.
With 30 million people, in India, looking for work that does not bode well fro American citizens working in technical and medical fields, as they could be replaced, with cheaper labor.
Trump, and the GOP, like the Indian government, play "bait and switch" just to get elected or remain in office. In the case of the US, it is not our southern border, but our visa system which is displacing American workers form good, high paying jobs. Some, even being forced to train their South Asian replacement.
Need proof? just 5 miles from here is IBM, which has replaced most of its contract workforce with people from India.
Of course, within India, they cannot even feed their own population, have a very large carbon footprint and are quickly consuming their own natural resources. Climate change is going to make this worse.
India's unemployment, and over population problems, are also the world's problem.
16
@Nick Metrowsky
I do not like the skewed attitude of some people who always complain about population of other countries or immigration. Given the amount of diversity, it is a miracle that India is the 6th largest economy in the world. You complain about the population, did India ask your country to feed her? No. The aid that you may give is infinitesimal in comparison to India's economy or even to the amounts contributed by H1B employees in to social security that they never will be able to claim. You worry that more people will come into the U.S. from India and replace U.S. citizens. This is absurd because all these individuals have to pass through terrible amount of paperwork and shell out thousands of dollars in fees that goes to the U.S. government and eventually to its citizens. Further, they are limits on how many immigrate to your country. Immigrants from India or elsewhere (the so called "economic immigrants") are very well educated, can fend for themselves, and more often that not create lots of jobs directly or indirectly.
Although I don't deny some companies might abuse H1B, it is the problem with YOUR companies. Blaming individuals or having a skewed-opinion of people from elsewhere only shows a biased point of view.
Finally you talk about "carbon footprint" ; it is well known who the main culprit is. To end, there is a lot of goodwill reg. the U.S. in India and among Indians, I hope comments such as yours do not make even a tiniest dent to this goodwill.
9
With due respect, it’s not the engineers and medical professionals who are unemployed in the statistics that are being cited, India’s unemployment report is talking about unskilled and semi-skilled labor. And none of those are candidates for H1B jobs in the tech sector or in the medical sector in the US.
If you’re going to beat the tired old MAGA band, at least get your facts straight.
3
Modi and his acolytes have the same intent as Trump! He is a better politician but still a rabble-rouser and street fighter. When competent economists were forced out of Reserve Bank of India, Modi's trolls applauded that. There no economic vision, long-term plan for investment in the country or improvement of educational system. Splashy projects like constructing the tallest statue for V.B. Patel feeds the populist tendencies. Demonetisation did more harm to the economy than anyone in the government has the guts to acknowledge. It is sad the Modi trolls continue to dominate the social media with inane diatribes against dead leaders.
13
The report is not verified. How can unemployment suddenly jumped to 6% when the Indian economy is growing at 6%+? Also, unemployment at 2% before 2014 doesn't seem right. Even a developed country like US has an unemployment rate of 3.7%. NYT - Please fact check the numbers before publishing.
14
As a person with an Indian operation for 13 years, the economy has grown rapidly with tremendous increases in new jobs, wealth and infrastructure. Anyone with a semblance of college education can easily get a job in the tech sector. Modi has enabled that 7%/year growth by reducing the kind of corruption that previously put sand in the gears of any investment. No longer do you have to pay off officials to get your tax refund. Goods can travel from state to state without bribes across each border. Most of the filings are electronic. Aid to the poor goes directly into bank accounts rather than through crooked middlemen. It does not mean corruption has been eliminated, but everything moves faster.
Rahul Gandhi is a figurehead for corrupt Congress Party leaders. He has no achievements in governing and would continue his family's tax on the nation. Why hasn't the NYT done a story on the Gandhi family's fortune in Swiss bank accounts? Or on the dangerous effects of a single family dominating a large country's politics?
The kind of fundamental change that Modi is driving (harmonizing GST, anti-corruption, denationalizing state enterprises, infrastructure investment, 100% rural electrification, clean toilets in every village) takes years to be fully realized, but it is having an impact today. It's why top grads stay in India instead of coming to the US.
30
@Rajiv
The sad truth is India needs to do better. Demonetization has been a disaster. Recent action on citizenship was populist move that vindicates Mr. Jinnah’s two nation theory.
Saddest fact is once “bottomless basket” Bangladesh will surpass India in per capita GDP by 2020 according to Indian newspaper reports
3
India had the misfortune to have the leftist Jawahar Lal Nehru as its first prime minister. He believed in state-run enterprises and created a stifling license-raj. He was followed by two other members of his family and another descendant is waiting in the wings.
The price that ordinary Indians have paid for inefficiencies caused by an inefficient and corrupt government has been very high. Pouring money from the treasury to keep struggling businesses like Air India alive is an example of not learning lessons from failed policies
While Modi might have not have been a great leader, I cringe at the thought of Rahul Gandhi at the helm.
15
@Gunga Din
Your comment sounds a lot like the Indian version of Trump saying "...but Hillary...but Hillary"
3
@Gunga Din Indeed. 2019 is going to be an year of bad options for the Indian voter.
@Gunga Din But an educated government is better than an uneducated one, any given day. Happy Cringing
1
Our Prime Minister of Indya is ONE of the Smartest PM in the world, a very smart guy to say the least . Saudi presented him the Order of King Abdullah a great honour.
the indyan opposition parties has cooked the unemployment jobless figure. As long as Modiji is employed as Indyan PM we have no end to unemployment. EVERY MINISTER WILL SUPPORT HIM and local will create and find lots of jobs.
His party president Idi Amin Shah has suggested to all educated youth of Indya to start own business called chai ,pani and Pakoras. to feed every single india will be fed and employed.
GREATEST PM OF WORLD
6
@Premji, you remind me of the Trump supporter base here in the U.S., more interested in the cult of Trump (and Modi) then with anything good he's done for the country. And sadly willing to overlook all the bad.
Don't be scared of the facts. Use them to become a better citizen of your country.
15
@Premji Not sure if being given a medal from the current Saudi leadership is good news. Also, how can the opposition cook the unemployment numbers if they are not the ones running the ministries in charge of these surveys?
15
@Premji
Great satire
2
Rahul Gandhi has learned well from Team Trump, right down to his contract with Cambridge Analytica, disclosed by the company and denied by Rahul Gandhi. This is a man who lies every time he opens his mouth. Why he is screeching lies constantly is obvious to Indians. Decades old corruption charges pending against him, his mother, and his brother-in-law. They are all out on bail! If they can get back in power again they will stay out of prison. Simple.
13
Sorry, can someone maybe help me understand - am I reading this right? This rioting and corruption scandal is because the unemployment rate has hit a 45 year high at just 6.1%? This is higher than comfortable, certainly, but considering "full employment" is when the unemployment rate is at 5%, this is hardly a drastic enough number for there to be widespread outrage and a coverup scandal. Am I misunderstanding something? What was the rate before 2017-18?
2
@Dannie Unemployment is far higher in the unorganized sector of the economy, which accounts for 85% of total economic output. Unemployment in the 24-35 range is about 17%, which is a recipe for disaster.
5
@AndySingh that makes more sense. The NYT article should have mentioned this information, because as it is presented, there is nothing to indicate that the 6.1% number is either excluding certain sectors of the economy or otherwise misrepresenting the reality. To someone with no knowledge of the situation, there is a huge information gap between the article and the reality.
@Dannie
There is no rioting. The rioting picture is from Punjab which is a Congress Controlled State.
As for corruption, Modi is the first person in a longtime who is not currupt. But you won't read that in NYT.
Unfortunately this bias has become common here.
2
It is not possible to produce economic growth when resources are limited, population growth is not under control, earth resources are taken, and so on.
22
@AKA I thought all the data showed there has been economic growth, but perhaps not the kind that increased the number of jobs enough to keep up with demand.
Lynch mobs have been finding a lot of work under Modi so jobs picture is not all that bleak.
19
@Nagarajan There was lynching before 2014 too, but media didn't publish any news about lynching.
1
Mahatma K. Gandhi was an Indian humble humane empathetic peaceful non- violent person. Whatever happened to him and his message?
American Martin Luther King, Jr. warned about the toxic evil inhumane immoral mix of capitalism, militarism and racism. How did that work out?
16
@Blackmamba if we lived with Mahatma Gandhi's principles we would have been colonized again by a foreign power. Instead, we chose to be powerful.
4
Modi government can fudge numbers all they want. It only takes a trip to India to figure out how much India has deteriorated in the last 5 years. Seeing is believing.
26
@Bharat M
??? Don't know about you, but I see the changes all around when I visit back. From highways to everything else everything is changing. They are talking about India, hoping that's the country you have seen
1
Modi government has tried to control
the institutions to compromise their
independence. Mr. Modi then would
be free to say and do whatever he likes.
He got rid of RBI( central bank) governors who tried to maintain independence of the bank. Retired spureme court justice,Kurian Joseph, alleged that chief justice of India, Deepak Mishra, was on remote control, Mr. Modi's man and doing his bidding. National Statistical Commission.
has seven members, three are vacant, two have resigned, only two remain.
Those who resigned are independent.
They protested the abuse of statistics.
Even GDP data of 7% growth, the fastest
in the world, is suspect. David Piling of
Financial Times suggested no one knows
real GDP of India.Recently a commision
restated previous 10 years' data according to new methodology adopted in 2014 when Mr. Modi took over. The
revised data showed previous government had done better. Mr. Modi appointed another commision, staffed with his men, which showed Modi Govt. achieved higher GDP. Two commisions, two different sets of data. How could it be that the fastest growing economy over the last 5 years has the slowest job
creation? Simply, neither the economy is growing at the fastest pace nor jobs are being created at high rate. For 90,000
railway jobs, mostly unskilled, there were 2.5million applicants. Bombay municipal corp.advertised 13 jobs which attreacted 60,000 applications.No wonder Mr. Modi chose to hide jobs report.
31
Punjab is ruled by the Indian National Congress, also known as the Congress Party, lead by Rahul Gandhi. AS in these United States, unemployment issues in India too are local.
The NYT's bias against the Modi government is well known. So, those in the know of things both here and in India do not any more take these NYT news stories -- and particularly, those NYT's Editorial Board's pronouncements -- seriously.
There is a saying in Hindi in rural North India: "Delhi bahut door hai," literally meaning, "Delhi is very far faraway." Figuratively, this means "Whatever happens or whatever is said in Delhi has very little consequence here." This is euivalent to Tip O'Neill's adage, "All politics are local."
So, I can paraphrase the Hindi saying contextually thus: "Dilli se New York bahut door hai." meaning, New York is far wary from Delhi." -- Kollengode S Venkataraman
16
@Kollengode S Venkataraman What an apologist, not to mention naive(if you truly believe what you're saying of course).
Facts are facts, numbers don't lie. The Modi administration has shown a lot of disdain towards anyone who spills the secrets of what they're up to. Democracies are an exercise in transparency and so far the Modi government has operated like a covert operation.
Economies can grow without the common man seeing much of that change, we see income disparity all over the world and this is no different. Modi just moved the corruption at the grass root level up to the cabinet level. That's where the big money is right ?
30
@Kollengode S Venkataraman amazing to find comments in the exact same article accusing the NYT of being both an avid supporter of Modi and a fervent opposer to his government.
China developed rapidly on the back of manual assembly labor. Such work is now increasingly automated. This is a challenge not just to India but to any country with a large population that is still low on the development spectrum.
That aside, it seems that the NY Times has decided to take a position that is anti- Mr. Modi, choosing to selectively highlight issues that paint his government in a negative light. Perhaps your reporting should come with a disclaimer that these are opinions and unproven allegations. Why dont you publish a piece with evidence?
18
@CommonSenseEconomics
The data says that unemployment is at a 45-yr high.
Of course you bhakts may not like the data but it is still factual.
5
India is ruled by the fascist outfit RSS. This man (Modi) is a fraud along the lines of Bolsonaro of Brazail and Trump of USA.
81
@HarCongress is no less fascist and corrupt.
7
@Har
Your view is baseless and biased! Indian and Indians are most democratic people on earth;
Triple TALAQ bill which restrains Muslim mens from getting divorce by just uttering 3 times "TALAQ" word are banned in Pakistan and Arab countries. But that has irked the Muslim Law Personal Board of India. Under the pretext of SHERIA LAW which they believe is above the constitution of INDIA. The fact is people of India are tolerant and flexible to allow a community to practice their personal laws above CONSTITUTION! I challenge such people to try this in Western Society and you shall get the answer!
3
Modi was elected primarily with a vote against Congress party, the name became synonymous with corruption. In a country with 80% of the population live in rural agricultural areas, the collected data does not reflect true unemployment nor does it reflect the suffering. There are no unemployment benefits and so no data. Whatever the data they collect, publicizing the analysis of faulty data doesn’t serve any public good.
3
As a regular reader of nytimes, news in India brings lot more comfort than news from US. This is defiantly not an excuse for any wrong doing by current government but I personally don’t think it’s a scandal. And thankfully, no single person decides the fate of whole nation in current India. This is the reason even resignation of these officials are a world news and thus limit the hands of government from any misadventures.
Current government is already in defensive state due to the Rafael fighter jet deal with France and I am sure they don’t want to give more ammunition to opposition. Again thankfully, India does not have just two parties, it’s not Republicans vs Democrats..... there are numerous parities in opposition and can bring the government to its toes for any wrong doing.
I think current BJP government in India need to be way more careful now as any more mistakes can cost them next election. And I thank these officials for there protest and highlighting the issue. Democracy works like this. Power corrupts everyone, it’s the job of citizens to protest and correct the course of the government.
And a sincere request to my American friends... don’t get in the fight of republicans vs Democrats. That’s how politicians keep your attention away from real issues. Current administration in America is scaring the world, especially the part of world where democracy is still alive. Do something !
11
Great.
Prepare for even more H-1B visa workers applying and coming here to work. They'll most likely accept jobs and work for even less pay. Saturating us with even more tech workers from India.
Good for Silicon Valley, bad for the American worker.
15
I lived in Southern India (Kerala) and traveled throughout India.
The country is a great example of the sad dystopia of overpopulation, fierce/ancient religious rivalries, income inequality, lack of infrastructure, Hindu nationalism, corruption at every level, and environmental destruction.
Modi is a dangerous man. He's a Hindu nationalist. He's also a globalist who is selling off Indians and their ecology to the global corporate elite. He is in bed with Trump and Trump's children in several development projects.
His scandalous government smears indigenous people as "Maoist rebels" as a ploy to steal their land from them to hand it over to plunderers such as international logging, damming and mining companies.
Climate change is coming in hard on India.
Of note, Kamala Harris is also a Hindu nationalist and has endorsed Modi.
Read the non-fiction book "Maximum City" and the fictional book "Shantaram" for a vivid depiction of modern India.
50
@Steve Davies from Tampa, FL None of the tirade against Modi is true. Firstly the Maoists have been around from long before Modi. Secondly Modi is not in bed with Trump. Both have mutual respect for each other and Modi embraced Trump when he was in Washington but then, the Modi hug is legendary. Modi tries his best to minimize enemies. He is the least dangerous of all the current world leaders. Even the prime minister of Pakistan is his personal friend. He like Trump has established good working relations with the Chinese president without either of them selling their own respective countries. Yes climate change is coming hard on India even after signing the Paris accord and promoting it. Yet India has increased coal imports to keep its steel industry from causing further unemployment.
Whats with Kamala Harris being a Hindu nationalist? Nonsense. Tulsi Gabbard is a Hindu but she cannot be labeled Hindu nationalist either because she is more American than most Americans because she has served in the armed services for America. Modi is still very popular among the millions of Indians outside of India and several Indian Americans or those with Indian ancestry support and admire Modi because he is one of a kind ,a unique Jewel who rose from being a tea vendor to the PM of the largest democracy and the second most populated country in the world. Being a nationalist is not a negative. Would America ever vote for a president who cares more about some other country than the USA?
19
@Girish Kotwal you might debate @Steve Davies' political points, but the following is spot on:
The country is a great example of the sad dystopia of overpopulation, fierce/ancient religious rivalries, income inequality, lack of infrastructure, Hindu nationalism, corruption at every level, and environmental destruction.
22
@Pankaj K Garg from Sunnyville, CA. I was not finished responding to your outrageous post. Here is the rest of my response.
The country is a great example of how life goes on despite of all the odds not an example of dystopia. If want a great example of dystopia, just travel to Venezuela or central American countries or the war torn countries which have been decimated because of an epic migration from bombed out homes.
Most Hindus are tolerant of all other religions and if they do not tolerate other religions and work in harmony with Indians of other religions, they are not true Hindus. Those fanatics are at the fringes of Indian society and will be thrown out from their parliamentary seats if they have been fanatical. So what is spot on Pankaj Garg from Sunnyville? The image of India that you present or the reality that India is a vibrant democracy and while life in India is not ideal for all Indians at all times, India is an outstanding example of how a country can continuously evolve and progress while being a vibrant democracy by not being bogged down by the Himalayan blunders of their past leaders.
The truth about India is far from what some are telling and is untrue. Just because someone travels to India on a vacation for a short period will not give you a depth of understanding of India, Indian diversity and Indian harmony.
7
Data and logic can never do any good to most Indians as successive Indian Govt and sociopolitical elites there ruined the very basic of education and core institutions there.
Modi's support base is more like our own Trump- based on religious fundamentalism, racial hatred, and most importantly, ignorance of the masses along with sky high corruption and selfish elitism among 'elite' Indians. The main motivator for overwhelming majority of Indians in India, NRIs (Non Residential Indians), and Indian origin foreign nationals boils down to religious fundamentalism (read, "HIndutva"- a totally distorted version of Hindu religion, which is just opposite to what Hinduism used to be all about), strong sense of racism which include strict caste division among Hindus in accordance with Adi Shankarachiriya sect, belended with blind and aggressive desire to cleanse India of any other religious minorities, mainly the Muslims.
In reality, India never ever had secularism- even as per Indian constitution where religious laws were accepted, more than 70% of "Muslim personal laws" are directly taken from Sharia. Appeasement of Muslims by "secular" political parties, mainly Congress, and previous Governments actually helped this right wing "Hindutva" BJP to get more public support among majority Hindus there. Now the whole situation is being exploited by opportunist and corrupt business houses, many from Modi's own state/clan, support RSS, BJP, and Modi for obvious reasons.
9
Anyone who has slightest idea about India and Indian society would laugh at these official unemployment rates. In reality, Indian unemployment rate would be easily, at least, more than 20 percent.
Measures of employment are released sporadically and exclude a number of sectors, notably the informal economy that employs over 80% of Indians. One can check this one- https://qz.com/india/1006748/the-real-problem-with-indias-jobs-data-is-that-they-hide-more-than-they-reveal/
32
With all due respect, can NYT please release the source of the photo published in this article? I was shocked to see the violent depiction of these demonstrations and immediately called my family and friends in India to understand the situation and to see if it has spread in other states.
My family and friends told me that this is not the case and the photo seems to be outdated.
Right now in India the political situation has been polarized due to daily roars over non-existent and baseless roars of opposition. Opposition parties are diligently working to divert the attention of the ongoing investigation into the corruption case occurred in 2013 by top officials of then-in-power opposition party.
The only reason that these issues get into the media because opposition party is not sure which issues to fight the election with. For almost all of the issues facing India, current government has tried to put up some sort of solution. I have to agree that some of the solutions used went against the middle class population. However, learning from their failures current government has started to put up policies carefully. It’s a slow process and as an Indian resident I support it. I would rather have a government which is diligent to put up the solutions than create baseless uproars every now and then.
10
@AD Getty Images, January 25th 2019
It took a second to look it up on google
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/indian-police-personnel-block-unemployed-indian-teachers-as-news-photo/1088261718
5
@Sam Did you read the caption? These are teachers protesting the policies of a state government (Punjab) where a party different from that of Mr. Modi rules. I guess opinions take precedence over facts to push a point of view.
2
@Sam
Thank you for the info. However, I stand by my rest of the comment. I forgot to mention the location at which the photo is taken, the state is ruled by the opposing party, not the party which Modi represents.
1
Even if the statistics are released, few people would believe them. In India there are always the "official" statistics and then the "real" statistics, and everyone knows that.
The real stats are likely to be far different from the official ones, if released.
10
@MC
So the real unemployment rate is likely to be even higher than the official 6.1, then?
@about 'em swamp rats: It's nearly 19% for urban male and 27% for urban female.
3
@KK13
Where did you get these figures? You should think of working with NYT, because even with experienced journalists, they were not able to find the exact figures.
3