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India’s measures to tackle youth unemployment crisis dismissed as inadequate

  • A dearth of jobs in India has been cited as a key reason for PM Narendra Modi’s underwhelming performance at the recent election

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Job seekers get information at a job fair organised by Karnataka state government in Bangalore, India on February 27. Photo: EPA-EFE
Vijay Mankar borrowed 300 rupees (US$3.5) from his sister and braved heavy rains to travel 200km to India’s financial capital, Mumbai, from his hometown near Nashik city in Maharashtra state. The 28-year-old commerce graduate was attending an interview for an airline job, but had no idea initially about its details.
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“I got to know the job was for loading and unloading cargo in planes only after reaching the location. It doesn’t even require a graduate degree. I even borrowed 20 rupees from my friend to iron my clothes for the job interview,” Mankar told This Week in Asia.

He returned home drenched and feeling dejected, but he was not alone. About 25,000 other applicants left the job fair empty-handed, as local authorities could not conduct interviews because of overcrowding and only collected their application forms.

“I have been jobless for over two years now … I have tried every little opportunity but couldn’t get any steady job so far,” Mankar said in a trembling voice.

Mankar is one of tens of millions of young Indians who have been struggling to find work amid a severe unemployment crisis. Analysts warn that the Indian government’s attempts to address the crisis are inadequate.

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In February, over 4.7 million applicants competed for 60,000 job vacancies to join the police of Uttar Pradesh state. Other Indian states have reported a similar job application rush in recent years.

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