India has shed 5-million jobs since 2016, says new report
Mostly higher educated and young men aged between 20 and 24 who are hardest hit by the unemployment
New Delhi — At least 5-million Indians lost their jobs between 2016 and 2018, and young urban men are being hit hardest, a Bengaluru-based private university said in a report on Tuesday. The report by the Azim Premji University comes as Indians are voting in a staggered general election, which is due to end on May 19, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government keen to defend its economic record, including on jobs. “In addition to rising open unemployment among the higher educated, the less educated [and likely informal] workers have also seen job losses and reduced work opportunities since 2016,” said Amit Basole, an economist and lead author of the report. The report did not say how many jobs were created during the period. Modi’s abrupt withdrawal of high value currency notes from circulation in November 2016, with the aim of curbing tax evasion and promoting digital transactions, disrupted small businesses and sparked layoffs. The introduction of a national sales tax the fol...
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