In a post on X, Kharge cited various government data and reports to support his claim, asserting that the Modi government’s refutation of independent economic reports cannot negate the reality of the unemployment crisis in India.
“The truth is that Modi government is solely responsible for shattering the dreams of crores of youth in the last 10 years,” he alleged.
Kharge pointed to the National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises, which revealed a loss of 54 lakh jobs in the manufacturing sector between 2015 and 2023.
He also highlighted the marginal increase of only 16 lakh employees in unincorporated, non-agricultural enterprises across India over a 12-year period, as per the same survey.
The Congress chief further cited the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) to underscore the urban unemployment rate of 6.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024. He also mentioned a report by IIM Lucknow that analyzed government data and found prevalent issues such as unemployment growth, high unemployment among the educated, and low participation of women in the workforce.
Kharge criticised the Modi government for rejecting independent economic reports, accusing them of attempting to whitewash the reality.
He cited data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which puts the current unemployment rate in the country at 9.2 per cent, with a staggering 18.5 per cent for women. He also referred to an ILO report stating that 83% of the unemployed in the country are youth, and the India Employment Report 2024, which highlighted zero growth in employment between 2012 and 2019, despite 7 crore youth joining the labor force.
The Congress president also pointed to a 2023 report from Azim Premji University, which revealed that 42.3 per cent of graduates under the age of 25 in the country are unemployed. Lastly, he cited a recent report by Citigroup, which stated that India needs 1.2 crore jobs annually, and even a 7% GDP growth will not suffice to create enough jobs for the youth, while the Modi government has achieved an average GDP growth of 5.8%.
“Be it government jobs, or private sector, self-employment or unorganised sector – Modi government has only one mission ‘Keep the youth jobless’,” Kharge said.
Source Agencies
