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About 91% of India's workforce of 520 million is informal, lacking social insurance. However, this paper finds the Social Security Code 2020 wanting, but with potential for universalizing social insurance. The paper spells out the principles that should guide social insurance for informal workers; and presents the design and architecture for extending coverage. It shows how realistically, over the next 10–15 years, social insurance could cover the entire workforce, in accordance with ILO Conventions. It also estimates the fiscal cost of social insurance, for the first five years, and spells out the political economy, fiscal and administrative challenges to universalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the notion of the duality principle, as embodied in the German dual system of Vocational Education and Training (VET), within the context of a field survey of skill shortages faced by German and Indian firms operating in India. The study finds that these firms experience problems with the quantity and quality of skills supplied and, in response to these problems, use some form of in-house training for new recruits and employees. Firms also express a willingness to cooperate in skill-development programmes and in joint funding with government. The article makes a strong case for adapting some of the critical elements of the German dual system to render Indian VET more responsive to the labour market and provide a formally structured and integrated system of skill development.

An essential characteristic of firm size distribution patterns in developing countries including India, is a bimodal distribution with a "missing middle", which is widely accepted in development economics. We analyse data from the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), National Sample Survey (NSS) and Economic Census to assess the firm size structure of the whole non-farm sector. The contribution of the paper is that for the first time a comprehensive database is constructed to enable analysis of the size structure of India's non-farm enterprises. The second contribution is that we find a deep distortion in India, with even a "small"-scale sector being very small, relatively. We examine briefly the policy-related causes that make India an outlier even among Asian economies in respect of size structure of enterprises. Finally, we argue that the historically policy-induced informality of enterprises is being entrenched by the current hiatus in state policy in even recognising the true nature of the problem of micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs), which holds back both their growth and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first decade of this century, India became one of the world's fastest growing large economies, and began to face serious skill-related shortages of workers. Its TVET system has not responded adequately to the growth in demand for semi-skilled and skilled workers. This article describes six sets of reforms that India's educational planners and policy-makers must put into place if these shortages are not to constrain India's ability to benefit from the demographic dividend.

India's Parliament passed the Right to Education Act in 2009, which entitles all children 6-14 years old to at least eight years of schooling. This paper examines the cost of achieving this right to education, and asks whether India can fill the financing gap that must be filled if the right is to be realized. The paper notes the very considerable increase in central and state government allocation implied by the Act, and finds that there will be difficulties in finding the resources, given the large fiscal deficit occasioned by the global economic crisis. However, the paper goes on to suggest a series of measures that can be taken so that the right to schooling is no more denied or delayed. (Contains 3 tables.)

Private sector growth in education is the new neo-liberal mantra. Based on data generated by a representative sample survey in eight states, six of which account for two-thirds of the children out of school in India, this paper examines the private sector in elementary education in India, and compares its characteristics with government schools. It argues that the majority of private schools at the lower end of a segmented private sector do not contribute to gender and social equity. Despite their better physical facilities their teachers are poorly paid and trained; and although their outcome and process indicators are better than for government schools, they remain unregulated and offer a poor alternative to low quality government schools. (Contains 3 tables and 5 notes.)

This paper reports on findings from a large sample survey in the states of India that account for two thirds of the children out of school. It then examines the feasibility of the central government's goals to ensure all children complete 5 years of school by 2007, and 8 years by 2010. These goals--more ambitious than the global EFA goals--are unlikely to be achieved without significant reforms by the central and state governments. It examines key reform options: in the public spending pattern; improving teacher accountability and work environment; incentives to improve demand for schooling; and the private sector. It argues that central to universalizing elementary education will be improving the level, equity and efficiency of public spending. However, even with these reforms, improving teacher accountability will still remain key to the achievement of the goals.

Using national-level employment data, this paper explores both the supply and demand-side factors responsible for stalling India's structural transformation on the employment side. We have found that although the overall LF participation has consistently been declining, the size of open unemployment and discouraged LF are rising at an unprecedented pace. This employment crisis arose because of the stalled structural transformation owing to the lack of effective demand for skilled workers in the non-farm sectors. This crisis is not only reflected in stagnant real wages, but it also adversely affected GDP growth and the incidence of poverty. Hence, unless measures are taken quickly, India's demographic dividend, which ends in 2040, is under severe threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The share of manufacturing in India's GDP was only 16% in 1991 and has remained stagnant at that level until 2018. Employment in manufacturing has also remained stagnant at under 12.8% of the workforce. One reason is that India has not had a coherent industrial policy in place since 1991. Meanwhile, some 100 countries in the world have adopted industrial policies, especially since the global economic crisis of 2008. The paper begins by spelling out the reasons why India needs an industrial strategy. It goes on to spell out eight elements of what would constitute a manufacturing strategy for India, which would address the concerns of large corporates and small and medium enterprises, as well as micro-enterprises. We would argue that such a strategy will lay the foundations for an inclusive growth strategy for India, which will also create growing jobs for an increasing labour force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper explores the recent fall in female labour force participation and its socio-economic determinants in India. The major contribution of this paper is: to explore both micro- and macro-level factors which determine female labour force participation rate (LFPR); to examine the “U shape” female LFPR, by examining the likely income and substitution effects of the real wage increase, to identify the sub-sectors within manufacturing and service sectors that could create jobs for new female job aspirants and those older women displaced from agriculture in recent years; and thus to understand the conditions under which female LFPR could be raised. Using both macro-level and household survey (NSS) data, we find that the recent fillip in the process of structural transformation has pushed a large number of females out of agriculture. The growing mechanization in agriculture and rising capital intensity in manufacturing sectors together have limited the opportunity for females because of their low education and skill and due to other cultural constraints. We also found that the rise in real wages in rural areas and the consequent improvement in the standard of living has produced a strong negative income effect which outweighs the positive substitution effect and as a result female LFPR has declined substantially. However, with the massive increase in female enrollment in secondary and higher levels of education, it could be expected that the substitution effect of the increase in real wage would become stronger if appropriate measures are taken by the government, which are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the notion of the duality principle, as embodied in the German dual system of Vocational Education and Training (VET), within the context of a field survey of skill shortages faced by German and Indian firms operating in India. The study finds that these firms experience problems with the quantity and quality of skills supplied and, in response to these problems, use some form of in-house training for new recruits and employees. Firms also express a willingness to cooperate in skill-development programmes and in joint funding with government. The article makes a strong case for adapting some of the critical elements of the German dual system to render Indian VET more responsive to the labour market and provide a formally structured and integrated system of skill development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first decade of this century, India became one of the world's fastest growing large economies, and began to face serious skill-related shortages of workers. Its TVET system has not responded adequately to the growth in demand for semi-skilled and skilled workers. This article describes six sets of reforms that India's educational planners and policy-makers must put into place if these shortages are not to constrain India's ability to benefit from the demographic dividend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: India''s Parliament passed the Right to Education Act in 2009, which entitles all children 6–14 years old to at least eight years of schooling. This paper examines the cost of achieving this right to education, and asks whether India can fill the financing gap that must be filled if the right is to be realized. The paper notes the very considerable increase in central and state government allocation implied by the Act, and finds that there will be difficulties in finding the resources, given the large fiscal deficit occasioned by the global economic crisis. However, the paper goes on to suggest a series of measures that can be taken so that the right to schooling is no more denied or delayed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The global economic crisis hit the Indian economy at a time when it was riding a wave of unprecedentedly high growth. This article argues that while the global crisis has particularly impacted exports, and hence growth, and worsened the fiscal balance, India is already returning to an 8% per annum growth. The limited impact, the article argues, has been driven by the fact that both savings and investments have risen sharply in the first decade of the millennium and are likely to remain high. It is the domestic savings/investment as well as the domestic markets that are driving the growth. However, the article also highlights a series of long-term challenges that policy-makers must address if rapid growth is to be sustained and poverty sharply reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private sector growth in education is the new neo‐liberal mantra. Based on data generated by a representative sample survey in eight states, six of which account for two‐thirds of the children out of school in India, this paper examines the private sector in elementary education in India, and compares its characteristics with government schools. It argues that the majority of private schools at the lower end of a segmented private sector do not contribute to gender and social equity. Despite their better physical facilities their teachers are poorly paid and trained; and although their outcome and process indicators are better than for government schools, they remain unregulated and offer a poor alternative to low quality government schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports on findings from a large sample survey in the states of India that account for two thirds of the children out of school. It then examines the feasibility of the central government''s goals to ensure all children complete 5 years of school by 2007, and 8 years by 2010. These goals—more ambitious than the global EFA goals—are unlikely to be achieved without significant reforms by the central and state governments. It examines key reform options: in the public spending pattern; improving teacher accountability and work environment; incentives to improve demand for schooling; and the private sector. It argues that central to universalising elementary education will be improving the level, equity and efficiency of public spending. However, even with these reforms, improving teacher accountability will still remain key to the achievement of the goals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this article, the author reflects on the article by Anand P. Gupta on the evaluation of governance of the outcome budgeting in India. He says that developed countries have a system that monitors, evaluates and redesign programmes, in which India lacks the first two which leads to repeating past mistakes. Furthermore, he mentions that without an effective online management information system (MIS), the performance management (PM) system and outcome-bsed budgeting will not be effective.

Public social services, such as basic health care, represent the effective option for the poor, especially in the rural areas of low-income countries. The quality of such services are at present extremely deficient, largely due to resource constraints and lack of political will to make them function effectively. The state can no longer provide the comprehensive services it has in the past and which were highly successful in a number of 'high-achieving' developing countries. Yet, the state must turn priority attention to providing public services for the poor, in order to close the widening gap between rich and poor. It needs to do this in partnership with the population it aims to reach, through effective linkage with grass-roots organizations and with the support of non-governmental organizations. Giving 'voice' and participation to the population can not only increase the resource base for public services, but can also significantly improve the accountability of providers and lead to a cost-effective option for the poor.