Given that unemployment and lack of jobs remains one of the big failings of the government, the Economic Survey 2019-20 has set out a framework using a Chinese model on how India can create four crore well-paid jobs by 2025 and 8 crore jobs by 2030.
The integration of "assemble in India for the world" with the Modi government's Make In India initiative can help the country to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025, it suggested. For the record, Make in India remains a programme whose success is yet to be determined.
India has unprecedented opportunity to chart labour-intensive export trajectory similar to the one in China, the Economic Survey said.
"Exports of network products can provide one-quarter of the increase in value added required for making India a $5 trillion economy," it added.
The survey also suggested a strategy that was also followed by China to grab the opportunity. From specialisation at large scale in labour-intensive sectors to trade policies, the survey drafted a formula for growth and job creation in the country.
The four strategies that the Economic Survey mentioned include specialisation at large scale in labour-intensive sectors, especially network products, focus on enabling assembling operations at mammoth scale in network products, export primarily to markets in rich countries and lastly, the trade policy must be an enabler.
The Economic Survey also analysed the impact of India's trade agreements on overall trade balance. India's exports increased by 13.4 per cent for manufactured products and 10.9 per cent for total merchandise, according to the survey. India's imports increased by 12.7 per cent for manufactured products and 8.6 per cent for total merchandise.
The survey said that around 2.62 crore new jobs were created in rural and urban areas between 2011-12 and 2017-18 among regular wage and salaried employees. The total formal employment in the economy increased from 8 per cent in 2011-12 to 9.98 per cent in 2017-18, according to the survey.
