Job Creation and New Economic Era is Emerging: Jayant Sinha

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said that India is witnessing a major upsurge in job creation in the new economy.

Addressing a session titled "Democracy, Demography, Demand: The Mystery of the Missing Jobs" at the India Today Conclave, Sinha said "There is a tremendous upsurge in job creation, not in the traditional economy but in the new economy, in entrepreneurship."

"For instance, Ola and Uber have given employment to 10 lakh drivers. So, I would say it is not about the missing jobs..it is about the missing data," the Minister said.

In support of his claim, Sinha pointed to various estimates, including Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data to say that "job situation is not as bad as it is being made out to be".

As per EPFO data, over one crore new accounts were added in 2017 to the 4.5 crore members of the organisation.

Former Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot of the Congress, who participated in the discussion, highlighted the dismal employment situation in the country.

"Our country is at a turning point with the number of young people who are unemployed or underemployed," Pilot said, adding, "We have a situation where 40 per cent of people going out to seek jobs are underskilled," he added.

Rebutting Pilot, Sinha said that it is precisely to meet this gap in skilling that the ruling NDA government had created a Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

"No doubt there is work to do in the area of job creation, but we are a 2.5 trillion dollar economy and we are on the right trajectory," Sinha said.