Human Resource Paradox

Human Resource Paradox


This week would definitely be remembered in history for the images from the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics. It was a truly breathtaking show – going through the 5000 years of history of China and the performances proved that China has arrived on the world stage. It was without doubt the most impressive start to any Olympics of the near past. These Olympics go on to prove that this century is going to be an Asian Century if not Chinese. For all that we know, China might emerge as the winners in these Olympics since their athletes and sportsmen have been striving hard for more than ten years for their moment of glory.

Of course, it makes us also think as to why we as a nation, inspite of being second to China in population, struggle to get a single medal in the Olympics. There are many reasons for the same and many of them are as applicable in the Sports field as in any other field. Infact, we have our limitations in sports, due to lack of proper infrastructure and training facilities as also attitude and mindset of society in general towards Sports. What worries everyone is that will this also lead to our failure in achieving our potential in the economic arena also.

Recently Goldman Sachs' have come out with their report on India, titled "Ten Things for India to Achieve its 2050 Potential", which lists out as to the measures that India should adopt to harness the demographic dividends likely to accrue on account of its young population. From 2000 to 2020, India’s population is expected to increase by 310 million, about the same size as the population of United States today. India will in effect create the equivalent of another US, and for those of working age between 2000 and 2020, India will create the equivalent of the combined working population of France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Thus if our economy can productively employ everyone, then we will be on our way to attain the status of a developed nation by 2020.

Goldman’ Sachs’ goes on to identify 13 variables that are crucial to productivity and growth sustainability. These 13 variables include Rule of Law, Corruption, Political Stability, Life Expectancy, Inflation, External Debt, Government Balance, Investment, Schooling, Openness, Computers, Mobiles and Internet.

Of these Governance is the most vital as in the absence of Good Governance, efficient delivery systems and effective implementation, we will find it difficult to educate our citizens, build infrastructure, increase agricultural productivity, and ensure that the fruits of economic growth are well-distributed. The problems manifest in various forms – inspite of we being a democracy, accountability is limited and voters are not really supreme, Citizens are not organised to demand better services and the role of the state is blurred as both a regulator to ensure adequate services and a producer of services. Citizens do not have the ability to hold service providers to account, as the latter do not depend on them for financing. The report offers suggestions to resolve these issues, by achieving greater accountability to the citizen, unbundling of the government's roles as regulator and provider of services, extending autonomy for service providers, and ensuring greater ability of citizens to hold service providers to account for the services they deliver. As an example, it recommends Public-private partnerships. Allowing the private sector to provide public services in wide-ranging areas such as health, primary education, building infrastructure, water supply and inner-city transport would solve several important problems. It would enable the government to fulfill its obligations to supply core services, which are badly served. Citizens would exercise choice over providers, and it would clearly separate the role of provider and regulator, with the government becoming the latter.

Reading the report, one is forced to think as to what ramifications it has for Nagaland. As per Census of India, our projected population on 1st March 2008 is 21.87 lakhs as compared to 19.90 lakhs in 2001. In 1981 our populations was 7.75 lakhs and in 1991 it was 12.09 lakhs. Thus in the 27 years from 1981 to 2008, our population has increased by around 14 lakhs. This is the segment of population that we commonly refer to as the youth and it only goes ahead to prove the fact that around 70% of our population are below the age of 30. The question is that if we leave out the school going population, still those between 18 to 35 years of age constitute almost half of our population and much more than our present working force. If only we could gainfully employ this section of our population, it will mean a lot to our economy and definitely will lead to prosperity and well being of all.

Thus the need to ensure adequate growth in employment opportunities to provide productive employment for the continuing increase in the population and the labour force is the most important problem for us. In the last few years, there has been an increased Government spending on various schemes and programmes, but they have not led to a commensurate expansion in employment. Employment opportunities in Government are limited due to various factors. Processes of privatization have been initiated in various sectors but they also create an environment which is not conducive to expanding employment in the organized private sector. The net result of these forces is a very slow expansion in employment opportunities in the organized sector, leading to rise in unemployment rates and growing frustration among the youth. The problem is perceived to be especially severe for educated youth, who have high expectations about the quality of employment opportunities that should come their way.

Along with this we also have the classic employability problem. We have expanded educational facilities in the last few years and our colleges are producing quite a number of graduates. However less than 20 % of the graduates are considered suitable by employers for direct employment making skills shortage one of the key risks to sustainable growth. On the other hand we also have the classic employment problem wherein there are many jobs available in the society that are not taken by our youth and they are actually availed by migrants from neighboring States. Infact a recent study by Evaluation Department showed that a significant portion of the economy and income is in the hands of the migrants. The question is why can’s our youth take up these jobs. One reason has been lack of relevant skill sets amongst the youth in particular with regard to jobs in the unorganized sector. Another reason is the lack of interest shown by many amongst the youth to take up jobs involving labour or in retailing and hawking vegetables etc. This co existence of low employability of the available work force alongside vast numbers of unemployed is a classic Human Resource Paradox.

Given the urgent need for equipping the blue collar as well as the white collar workforce, with the requisite knowledge and skills to participate in the process of economic growth and development appropriate policy initiatives are necessary. While short term initiatives could entail design of special policies and programmes focused entirely on skill development, in the long term, a careful re look at policy imperatives in the Education system becomes necessary. The declaration of Year of Capacity Building will definitely be able to address some of the issues.

I am sure this is a topic that requires much more thought and much more space than this column can offer. I look forward to views and suggestions from all, specially the youth on how we can overcome these problems and paradoxes and work out a strategy that gives us the opportunity to leverage our human resource potential in creating an era of progress and prosperity.

Have a nice week ahead.