Unemployment rate in India is at its lowest level in 6 years: PM Modi

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India's expanding economy is creating new possibilities for the youth and the unemployment rate in the country is at its lowest level in the last six years.

In a video message to the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the prime minister noted that new possibilities are being created for the youth as India's economy is expanding.

He said that employment creation in India has reached a new height and the unemployment rate in India is at its lowest level in 6 years according to a recent survey.

Noting that unemployment is decreasing rapidly in both rural and urban areas of India, the prime minister emphasised that the benefits of development are reaching both villages and cities equally, and as a result, new opportunities are increasing equally in both villages and cities.

He also pointed out the unprecedented increase in the participation of women in India's workforce and credited the impact of the schemes and campaigns that have been launched in India in the past years regarding women empowerment.

He pointed out the neglect towards skill development in the previous governments and said, "Our government understood the importance of skill and created a separate ministry for it and allocated a separate budget." Highlighting the importance of skilling, upskilling and re-skilling, the prime minister noted the rapidly changing demands and nature of jobs and emphasized upgrading the skills accordingly.

Therefore, the prime minister said, it is very important for industry, research and skill development institutions to be in tune with the present times. Noting the improved focus on skills, the prime minister informed that about 5,000 new ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) have been set up in the country in the last 9 years adding more than 4 lakh new ITI seats.

He also mentioned that institutes are being upgraded as model ITIs with the objective of providing efficient and high-quality training along with best practices.

Modi underlined that India is investing more in the skills of its youth than ever before and gave the example of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana which has strengthened the youth at the ground level.

Under this scheme, the prime minister informed that about 1.5 crore youths have been trained so far. He further added that new skill centres are also being established near industrial clusters which will enable the industry to share its requirements with skill development institutes, thereby developing the necessary skill sets among the youth for better employment opportunities.

The prime minister stressed making India the biggest centre of skilled manpower in the world in order to provide smart and skilled manpower solutions.

Highlighting the recent figures released by the International Monetary Fund, the prime minister informed that India will remain the fastest-growing major economy in the coming years.

He also recalled his resolve to take India among the top three economies of the world and said that IMF is also confident of India becoming the top three economies of the world in the next 3-4 years. Modi underlined that it would create new opportunities for employment and self-employment in the country.

"Today, the whole world is of the belief that this century is going to be India's century," the prime minister said as he credited the young population of India for this.

The prime minister observed that when the elderly population is increasing in many countries of the world, India is getting younger with each passing day.

"India has this huge advantage," he stressed as he noted the world is looking towards India for its skilled youth.

The prime minister suggested not to waste any opportunity being created and assured that the government is ready to support the cause.

Modi highlighted the importance of the power of the youth in utilizing the strengths of any country such as its natural or mineral resources, or its long coastlines and said that the country develops more with stronger youth power thereby doing justice to the nation's resources.

Today, the prime minister emphasized that a similar thinking is empowering India's youth, which is making unprecedented improvements in the entire ecosystem.

"In this, the country's approach is two-pronged," the prime minister said.

He explained that India is preparing its youth to take advantage of new opportunities through skilling and education as he highlighted the new National Education Policy which has been established after almost 4 decades.

The prime minister also underlined that the government is establishing a large number of new medical colleges and skill development institutes like IITs, IIMs or ITIs, and mentioned the crores of youth who have been trained under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

On the other hand, he stated that traditional sectors which provide jobs are being strengthened while new sectors that promote employment and entrepreneurship are also being promoted.

The prime minister also mentioned India making new records in goods exports, mobile exports, electronic exports, services exports, defence exports and manufacturing, and at the same time creating a large number of new opportunities for youth in many sectors such as space, startups, drones, animation, electric vehicles, semiconductors, etc.

Modi informed that India's proposal regarding global skill mapping has been recently accepted at the G20 Summit, which will help in creating better opportunities for youth in the coming times.

India's unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above was recorded at a six-year low of 3.2 per cent during July 2022-June 2023, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2022-2023 released by the National Sample Survey Office this week.

Joblessness or unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force.

Considering the importance of the availability of labour force data at more frequent time intervals, the NSSO launched the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017. PTI RSN CS HVA