The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
THE SKILL GAP
Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu’s call for a skill census is important, draws attention to a growing concern
SOON AFTER TAKING charge, Andhra Pradesh’s new Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, announced a flurry of decisions such as an increase in pensions and revoking the Land Titling Act. Possibly the most noteworthy decision, however, has been the order for a skill census. On the campaign trail, Naidu had said that through a skill census, he would gauge the skill levels of people and compare it to the global skill requirements. “This will help us address the skill shortcomings and make people more employable. Thus, it will automatically lead to welfare,” he said. There are many reasons why Naidu’s call for a skill census should be welcomed.
For one, it brings the state of unemployment in Andhra Pradesh in sharp focus. While it is well-known that India has been facing considerable unemployment related stress, most of the attention is centred around the so-called BIMARU states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. But data from the official Period Labour Force Survey for 2022-23 — the last fullyear report — shows that Andhra Pradesh is worse-off than many such states. For instance, at 4.1 per cent, Andhra Pradesh has a significantly higher unemployment rate (for all aged 15 years and more) than not just the national average (3.2 per cent) but also many states like Bihar (3.9 per cent), UP (2.4 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (1.6 per cent). Moreover, the unemployment gets worse when one zeroes in on the youth cohort (15 to 29 years). Youth unemployment rate in Andhra was 15.7 per cent — much higher than the national average of 10 per cent as well as states like Bihar (13.9 per cent), UP (7 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (4.4 per cent) and Rajasthan (12.5 per cent). Further, data suggests that getting higher education doesn’t seem to help matters. At 24 per cent, the unemployment rate among graduates in Andhra Pradesh was higher than Bihar (16.6 per cent), UP (11 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (9.3 per cent) and Rajasthan (23.1 per cent).
However, the unemployment crisis in India is not just about unemployment — it is also a crisis of unemployability. And this is not a secret. The 2015 policy of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said: “Our country presently faces a dual challenge of paucity of highly trained workforce, as well as non-employability of large sections of the conventionally educated youth, who possess little or no job skills.” The skill census is a step towards addressing, what a 2018 NCAER report calls, “India’s skilling paradox”: Dwindling opportunities in agriculture, much potential for jobs in manufacturing and services, but not enough people with the right skills. It will have important takeaways for course correction in the education system as well.
THEY WANT YOU to think they care. As north India suffers a debilitating heatwave, the apps that have made the lives of the better-off so much easier, implore customers to offer delivery “boys” a glass of water. For men and women chasing targets, rushing from home to home so that we do not have to step out of our air-conditioned cocoons, it is a fair ask.
But what are the Blinkits, Zomatos, Zeptos and Swiggys of the world doing for their “partners”? In Delhi, at least six of these partners confirmed that they do not get hazard pay, nor any help from the companies that use their labour as the basis for their much-touted “innovation”. But then, our homegrown startups are just learning from the best in the world.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and now body-builder and space taxi provider for his rich pals, is worth nearly $200 billion (or about Rs 1.7 lakh crore). A worker at Amazon’s warehouse often earns less than Rs 11,000 per month. At that pittance, several workers at its five warehouses in Manesar, Haryana, have been made to take an oath that they will not “drinkwater”orusethetoiletunlesstheymeet their daily targets — a demand that is practically impossible if labour laws around workdaylengthsandtimingsarefollowed.amazon, of course, is notorious for its inhuman treatment of labour, including in the US. But it, at least,hasemployees.othersjusthave“partners”.
A combination of guaranteed deliveries, quick sorting and sourcing and the abundance of a vast army of labour to carry out this task
What allows companies to keep workers casual, celebrating their ‘partners’ for PR purposes while ignoring protests demanding basic rights? In his book, ‘What Went Wrong with Capitalism’, investor
Ruchir Sharma looks at America and finds, in essence, that the consolidation of a few companies and the socialisation of losses (through bailouts and bad regulation) and inequality — between companies and within society — is a major culprit.
underpins India’s delivery-led “innovation”. Delivery partners are not employees — they have no job security, no recourse when mistreated, and no benefits. This “partnership” model has been used to the greatest effect by Uber, globally. It undercuts labour costs, while forcing (the jargon MBAS use is “incentivising”) “partners” to work longer hours — driven not by a boss but by the sunk costs of purchasing vehicles, and other investments made to become “gig workers”.
What allows companies to keep workers casual, celebrating their “partners” for PR purposes while ignoring protests demanding basic rights? What makes it so easy for them to pushpeopletotheindignityof“oaths”thatare dehumanising?inhisbook,what Went Wrong with Capitalism, investor Ruchir Sharma looks at America and finds, in essence, that the consolidation of a few companies and the socialisation of losses (through bailouts and bad regulation)andinequality—betweencompanies and within society — is a major culprit.
Then, there’s the fact that many of the plutocrats of today are no Henry Ford. Like Bezos and Deepinder Goyal, Ford, too, took existing technologies and innovated on the process. And while neither Bezos nor Goyal “invented” GPS or basic programming languages, they did create sourcing and delivery infrastructure. Ford, however, insisted that a worker in his factory be paid enough to afford the product they were manufacturing. Can the same be said today? At Rs 11,000-13,000/month,