Discuss the main cause of unemployment in India and suggest measures to solve this problem.

Ans. Unemployment is a curse for India. There are lakhs of people in the country who are unable to get work despite wanting it. A very large part of the population remains idle for about 4-5 months a year. Additionally, there are many people whose full production capacity is not utilized and the vast workforce of the country gets wasted. 

To solve the problem of unemployment in India, it is necessary to find its causes. The major causes of unemployment in our country are:

(i) Slow pace of economic development - 

Despite abundance of natural and human resources, the Indian economy is extremely backward. The pace of economic development in India has been very slow. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for most people of the country. But due to the backwardness and underdevelopment of agriculture, adequate employment opportunities are not available in the agricultural sector. The pace of industrial development in India has also been slow. Efforts have been made for industrialization of the country under the Five Year Plans, yet large industries have not developed adequately. Thus, very few means of employment are available in the industrial sector. Our cottage and small scale industries are also not in an advanced state. Before independence, no special efforts were made for economic development of the country in India. The policy of foreign rulers was such that with the decline of the present cottage and small industries, the burden of population increased heavily on agriculture and the problems of unemployment and under-employment increased. This aggravated the problem of unemployment. 

(ii) Lack of capital - 

Increasing investment is necessary to increase employment. As productive activities increase, employment opportunities also increase. But due to lack of capital, we are unable to increase investment adequately. In absence of capital, development of both agriculture and industry sectors gets obstructed in the country and there is very little increase in means of employment.

(iii) Defective planning - 

Defective economic planning is also an important cause of unemployment in India. In our Five Year Plans, employment and human resources have been neglected. From the beginning itself, employment of workers was not given priority in these plans and no concrete policy was formulated to achieve full employment in the long run. India's planning system has not been employment oriented. 

(iv) Rapid population growth -

India's population has been continuously increasing since 1921. In 1951, our population was only 36 crores. Currently, it has increased to about 1 billion. Thus, while on one hand the growth rate of economic development of the country is very slow, on the other hand the population and workforce are rapidly increasing. As a result, we are unable to provide employment to this growing population and the number of unemployed people continues to rise.

(v) Faulty education system - 

The number of educated people in India is increasing every year but adequate employment opportunities are not available to them. The main reason for this is our faulty education system. Our education system is not employment oriented. As a result, educated unemployment continues to increase.

(vi) Underutilization of natural resources - 

All kinds of natural resources required for economic development of the country are available here. But these resources are not being fully utilized. Their development could have provided more employment opportunities in the country.

After studying the causes of unemployment in India, it is necessary to formulate a suitable policy to solve the problem. 

The following measures can be taken to expand employment opportunities and eliminate unemployment in the country:

(i) Economic development - 

We can increase employment through balanced economic development of the country. It is undisputed that the extent of employment ultimately depends on investment in productive and capital goods. Hence, new industries should be established in the country, production capacity of existing industries should be expanded and heavy and core industries should be developed. 

(ii) Capital formation -

Capital formation is necessary to accelerate industrialization and pace of economic development. Therefore, it is very important to encourage saving. For this, reforms in income structure, control over consumption and changes in pricing policy of public sector enterprises are required so that public saving gets a boost. Additional employment opportunities can be generated in the country only when adequate capital remains available for development works. 

(iii) Controlling population growth - 

The problem of unemployment in India is related to the problem of population. Our country's population is continuously growing at a very rapid pace. But employment opportunities do not increase at that rate. As a result, the number of unemployed people continues to rise in the country. Thus, to solve the problem of unemployment, it is necessary to control the population. 

(iv) Development of cottage and small scale industries - 

Along with heavy industries, development of cottage and small scale industries in the country is also very essential to eliminate unemployment. The impact of unemployment, especially under-employment, is more severe in rural areas of India. We can eliminate such unemployment by developing domestic industries. 

(v) Expansion of social services - 

In India, very little development of services like health, transportation, communication, electricity etc. has taken place. Expanding these services will not only increase employment but also boost economic development. 

Additionally, to solve the current problems of unemployment and under-employment in the agriculture sector, it is also necessary to modernize agriculture and develop agro-based industries.