By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Protests of the “Cockroaches” (jobless) led by Cockroach Janata Party has (CJP) brought the unemployment crisis in India in focus that has compelled the ministers of the Union Government of India to come with their statements that Centre led by Modi has been doing a great job on employment and social security front. Though their claims are not believed in general and analysts raise their fingers on their deceptiveness veiling uncomfortable truth behind, they are still being reiterated by the ministers.
The glaring example is the presentation of the Union Minister of Labour and Employment Dr Mansukh Mandaviya in which he reiterated the claim citing the Reserve Bank of India’s data that more than 17 crore new jobs were created in India between 2014 and 2024. The presentation was made before NDA MPs. He has been citing this data which has already been questioned in its truthfulness because it showed sharp increase in employment even during the COVID-19 years when entire economy was at halt which even negative GDP growth of the country.
Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has been always shying away from their own government data and love to quote RBI data. It is understandable, because even government data do not reflect the RBI data on employment generation. Take for example, the recent claim of Mandaviya, in which he said that every one per cent increase in GDP is generating 1.11 per cent employment growth, as compared to 0.008 per cent growth in employment seen twelve years ago.
The intention of the claim was to show how the Centre under PM Narendra Modi has been performing. However, he forgets the reverse logic. What will happen when GDP decelerate? RBI data which he has been quoting for years had shown sharp increase in employment even when GDP decelerated during COVID-19 crisis years of 2020-21 and 2021-22. Thus, he contradicts himself by giving contrasting data.
Union Labour Minister also said that the NDA government placed employment generation and skill development at the centre of its vision for a developed India, contrasting it with the previous UPA government’s tenure between 2004 and 2014.India was the world’s 10th-largest economy during the UPA years and that employment growth remained slow, he said.
The Union Government’s presentation stated that the country created an average of 1.7 crore jobs annually during the decade. It was said that according to World Bank and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, India’s unemployment rate declined to 3.1% in 2025, lower than the global average of 4.8%. It was also said that India’s performance on employment indicators compared favourably with several major developed and emerging economies within the G20.
Mandaviya claimed that the government’s focus remained on youth employment and capacity building which led to improvements in workforce participation and employability. It was stated in the presentation that the youth employment rate has risen to more than 41.4%, while the employability of graduates has improved by 66%.
Mandaviya cited NITI Aayog data to claim that nearly 25 crore people moved out of poverty between 2014 and 2023. The data has been questioned earlier on the ground that had it been true how it come that the number of people given free foodgrain did not declined?
On Social security, he said that only 19 per cent, about 25 crore people were covered by at least one social sector scheme in 2015. However, by 2026, that number had risen to more than 101 crore people, covering 68.4% of the population.
It is worth noting here that it included free foodgrain being given over 80 crore people. The data is being used for statistical jugglery in several areas including to convince the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that India is doing a great work to support workers. However, the question remains unanswered – if poverty or working poverty declined, and 25 crore people were brought out of poverty, why numbers of poor receiving free foodgrains do not decline?
The figure of 101 crore, that is over 68 per cent of the population, brought under partial social security coverage was also highlighted recently in ILO and BRICS Labour Ministers meetings testifying to a global recognition of India’s social security coverage.
In reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Dr Mandaviya said that more than 6.64 crore jobseekers have registered on the (National Career Service) NCS portal since inception, of which 2.89 crore are active jobseekers as on 15.07.2026. Also, more than 10.05 crore vacancies have been mobilized on the portal since inception, of which 17.68 lakh are active vacancies as on 15.07.2026.
It should be recalled that NCS was launched in July 20, 2015, and hence the performance can’t be said to be satisfactory, when several millions of people including youth, who are unemployed, or employed will little or without pay, and also without social security coverage that is required for working people.
According to PLFS data for June 2026, unemployment rate among youth (15-19) years in Current Weekly Status (CWS) was 16.2 per cent, highest since April 2025 under the new data series. The government’s propaganda on employment is thus understandable amidst youth protest spreading across the country. (IPA Service)
