The Hindu Business Line : Assocham call to focus on manufacturing and services

, Assocham has emphasised the need for enhanced focus on manufacturing and services to ensure creation of more employment opportunities in all States, including Kerala.

Mr Anil K. Agarwal, President of the Assocham, said the greatest challenge that India faces is to overcome the problem of unemployment across the country, which could be solved with focus of policy makers on manufacturing and services.

`12 pc growth needed'

Larger employment opportunities for unemployed youth could be created when manufacturing grows at the rate of 12 per cent and services contribution to GDP exceeds 60 per cent in near future to ensure that enough employment is generated in these two sectors.

Even in services, the employment opportunities are seasonal and occasional because of their nature as the growth in the services sector depends on demand supply factor. However, in case of manufacturing, the employment generation will always be perpetual and the sector will always seek productivity, which will naturally turn larger employment opportunities, he said.

Commenting on agriculture, he felt that though the sector promises huge employment opportunities because of its size and the emerging opportunities in it India cannot depend for employment opportunities in agriculture sector since it already provides for adequate hidden employment and thus sustained employment opportunities in the sector will remain restricted.

4-point strategy

Assocham, therefore, feels that manufacturing should be the focus of attention of all policy makers - be it Centre or States to ensure sustenance for employment opportunities.

The Chamber has suggested 4-point strategy to all the State Governments to immediately take initiatives for removal of bottlenecks that impede the industrial growth in areas of infrastructure, availability of funds for investment, employment and labour laws and high transaction cost.

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