Demonetisation, GST forced youth to join labour workforce

Mumbai: The share of workforce in the 18-30 age bracket has begun to rise in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the wake of demonetisation and the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), reveals a data analysed by the Indian Express. This could be a grim indicator of rural distress and the lack of employment opportunities. The data further discloses that the share of the workforce in the 18-30 age group has begun moving up after the financial year 2017-18.
As of October 21, 2019, the number of young persons employed under MGNREGA has already reached 57.57 lakh.
The Wire with reference to the report quoted Nikhil Dey, founding member of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, an NGO closely working on MGNREGA, as saying, “There is a slowdown in the economy. The situation is bleak for young people. They have to sustain their education and find livelihood. When they are unable to find a job, they turn to MGNREGA. MGNREGA is a stop-gap arrangement for them.” Experts feel that the demonetisation and GST are the two drastic decisions taken by the Modi government in the first tenure and they have had a long-lasting impact on the economy. According to them both these decisions caused disruptions in the economy and contributed to the slowdown.
Tags demonetisation GST MGNREGA