Page 459 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

in urban areas and among women. Growth of labour stagnated at around 2%
for the decade between 1994–2005, about the same as that for the preceding
decade. Avenues for employment generation have been identified in the IT
and travel and tourism sectors, which have been experiencing high annual

growth rates of above 9%.

Unemployment in India is characterised by chronic (disguised)
unemployment. Government schemes that target eradication of both poverty

and unemployment (which in recent decades have sent millions of poor and
unskilled people into urban areas in search of livelihoods) attempt to solve

the problem, by providing financial assistance for setting up businesses, skill
honing, setting up public sector enterprises, reservations in Government, etc.
The decline in organised employment due to the decreased role of the public
sector after liberalisation has further underlined the need for focusing on

better education and has also put political pressure on further reforms. India’s
labour regulations are heavy even by developing country standards and

analysts have urged the Government to abolish or modify them in order to
make the environment more conducive for employment generation. The 11 th
five-year plan has also identified the need for a congenial environment to be

created for employment generation by reducing the number of permissions
and other bureaucratic clearances required. Further, inequalities and
inadequacies in the education system have been identified as an obstacle

preventing the benefits of increased employment opportunities from reaching
all sectors of society.

Child labour in India is a complex problem that is basically rooted in

poverty, coupled with a failure of government policy, which has focused on
subsidising higher rather than elementary education, as a result benefiting the
privileged rather than the poorer sections of society. The Indian government

is implementing the world’s largest child labour elimination programme, with
primary education targeted for approximately 250 million. Numerous non-
governmental and voluntary organisations are also involved. Special

investigation cells have been set up in states to enforce existing laws banning
the employment of children under 14 in hazardous industries. The allocation
of the Government of India for the eradication of child labour was $21