AA Edit | PM’s jobs drive much needed

Set to take its first step towards the declared target of creating, notifying and recruiting mission youth in government jobs, the Narendra Modi government has given the unemployed and under-employed youth, and their families, the best possible Diwali gift.

The first tranche of 75,000 virtual job offers to fill a plethora of current public job vacancies is much needed and will act as both a soothing balm to the vast group of unemployed youth, who have been waiting with good formal education but without a job matching with their aspirations and qualifications.

A vastly under-appreciated truth is, there are several places in India where the corporatised private sector cannot offer jobs and public job openings are the sole hope for many. Until there is a boom in the economy and a sustained growth, which will enable the small and medium enterprise sector to create opportunities, the government is the only hope for millions of Indians.

The news will create ripples of optimism and positivity amongst all such segments, even if the jobs themselves will be inadequate to employ everyone.

Unemployment is a terrible problem, not just economically but also socially and psychologically. It rusts the youth at the start of their careers, and lives; and can leave a depressing and devastating impact on society. It can breed several evils, for which society eventually pays a far greater price.

A start of 75,000 jobs, with candidates actually receiving their letters of appointments through a virtual ceremony will bode well for the Indian economy, and also help the ruling BJP politically. The target of a million jobs within the next 18 months is both laudable and achievable.

Of course, recruitments in governments are, as the government stated in Parliament, a “continuous process” but a mission-mode approach to identifying and filling up of vacancies is a welcome move.

Once PM Narendra Modi formally inaugurates the “Rozgar Mela”, we can surely know that at least for this one million and their families, acche din have arrived.