'There is a need to create jobs to avoid social unrest'

Before we allow industries to be flexible in hiring and firing policy, society must provide a security system, said

Arun Maira

, former member of the erstwhile Planning Commission of India.

Maira was speaking at a Session on ‘Future of Jobs’ organized by CII Eastern Region coinciding with its Annual Meeting.

Mr Maira, the former

India Chairman of Boston Consulting Group

, was of the view India badly needs to create jobs or else there will be social unrest. According to Moira, India produces least number of jobs per unit growth. The growth of the country should not be measured by GDP alone, but by the quality of jobs livelihood and jobs that are created, Mr Moira said, adding that for the same reason the success of a State should not be measured by ease of doing business but by the number of jobs they can create.

T V Narendran, Chairman, CII Eastern Region, who moderated the Session, said, “Today, we are at the beginning of a fourth industrial revolution. Developments in genetics, artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing and biotechnology, to name just a few, are all sunrise industries. This will lay the foundation for a revolution more comprehensive and all-encompassing than anything we have ever seen. Smart systems—homes, factories, farms, grids or cities—will help tackle problems ranging from supply chain management to climate change.”

“But we ae are all concerned about the slow pace of

job creation

in the country. The gap between numbers of jobs created and jobs required has widened despite strong GDP growth during the decade of the 2000s. Every year, 10 -12 million young people join the labor force, and 5 million people leave agriculture to join the non-agriculture sectors. Thus, there exists a total demand of 17- 20 million new jobs per annum,” Narendran said, adding that we also need to look at the quality of jobs created. They should be more in the organized sector and more formal jobs.