Speaking before the Parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to government data showing increase in beneficiaries registered with the Employee Provident Fund Organisation and National Pension Scheme, to establish that jobs have been created in this regime. The Modi government has been facing flak for long due to its inability to deliver on one of its key electoral promise of creating jobs.
Presenting his motion of gratitude for President Ram Nath Kovind's Budget session address, PM Modi tried to convey that enough jobs have been created over the past five years. He said that there is no logic to the claims of joblessness made by the Congress party. He further added that there are more jobs in the unorganised sector. Notably, it was the unorganised sector which was reportedly affected the most by the demonetisation move by the Modi government in November 2016.
"Since September 2017 to November 2018, in 15 months, provident funds have been deducted from about 1.80 crore new employees. Out of these new employees, 64 per cent are under 28 years old. Back in March 2014 close to 65 lakh people were registered under the National Pension System (NPS). In October last year, this number rose to about 1.20 crore. Did these happen without creating new jobs," PM Modi said during his address.
PM Modi disclosed that 6.35 lakh new professionals have come up in the past four years. "Do you think if a doctor opens a clinic or a nursing home then he will employ only 1 person? Or does a CA only employ 1 person? No," PM Modi said.
Modi government received severe criticism after a recently leaked NSSO survey disclosed that the unemployment rate has reached its highest level in the past 45 years. The report was later downplayed by the government as an unapproved draft.
Also, in the recently tabled Interim Budget, the government did not present any measures to create more jobs, which raised some eyebrows.
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