(a) whether the Government is aware that the rising unemployment is due to the import of counterfeit, substandard and cheap products from foreign countries particularly from China;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;
(c) whether the Government proposes any rules/regulation and laws to alleviate unemployment arising due to this reason; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI BANDARU DATTATREYA)
(a) & (b): Reliable estimates of employment and unemployment are obtained through labour force surveys on employment and unemployment conducted by National Sample Survey (NSS) Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Last such survey was conducted during 2011-12. According to the last 3 such surveys, the workforce grew from 45.91 crore in 2004-05 to 47.41 crore persons in 2011-12. The unemployment level decreased from 1.08 crore to 1.06 crore during the corresponding period.
(c) & (d): Government has taken various steps for generating employment in the country like encouraging private sector of economy, fast tracking various projects involving substantial investment and increasing public expenditure on schemes like Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) run by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pt. DeenDayalUpadhyayaGrameenKaushalyaYojana (DDU-GKY) scheme run by Ministry of Rural Development and National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) run by Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation.
Government has also decided to strategically promote labour-intensive manufacturing and expand employment opportunities by promoting tourism and agro-based industries.
The 12th Five Year Plan projects 5 crore new work opportunities to be generated in the non-farm sector and provide skill certification to equivalent numbers. The National Manufacturing Policy of the Government targets to create 10 crore jobs by the year 2022.
For skilling to provide employment, a new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been established to coordinate the skill activities across Ministries. In order to improve the employability of youth, around 20 Ministries run skill development schemes across 70 sectors. According to the data compiled by National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), about 76.37 lakh persons were given skill development training in the year 2013-14 under these schemes. Ministry of Labour& Employment is also contributing in this direction by enhancing the number of ITI s to 11,964 (Govt. 2284 & Pvt. 9680) which impart Vocational Courses certified by National Council for Vocational Training. It has also revamped apprenticeship training scheme.