Indian Express Editorial Summary
Topic-1 : Myanmar Crisis:
GS-2 : IR
Revision Notes
Question : Evaluate the role of the Border Guard Force (BGF) in exacerbating the instability in Myanmar and its implications for regional security. Suggest measures to mitigate the influence of non-state actors like the BGF on Myanmar’s internal dynamics.
Myanmar’s Fragile State:
- Myanmar’s army retook Myawaddy from anti-government forces, highlighting ongoing instability.
- Ethnic conflicts and the 2021 coup have weakened the state’s control over its territory.
Border Guard Force (BGF):
- This powerful, militia-like group benefits from the conflict, operating criminal networks in the region.
- Their rise reflects the breakdown of state authority in Myanmar.
External Players:
- Collapsing state authority attracts interventions from China, the US, and other regional powers.
- This creates a complex geopolitical situation on India’s eastern border.
India’s Lack of Response:
- Despite the crisis’ impact on India’s security, the government hasn’t effectively engaged with different actors in Myanmar.
Needed Change:
- India needs a new Myanmar policy that:
- Rethinks its past bias favoring the military junta.
- Engages with the National Unity Government (NUG) and ethnic armed groups.
- Opens communication channels with local forces controlling Myanmar’s border regions.
- Moves beyond a purely defensive approach like border fencing.
External Intervention:
- As the threat posed by the collapsing Myanmarese state engulfs the region, external powers are increasingly intervening.
- While the regional forum ASEAN has been unable to address the challenges, major powers are stepping in.
- China, under the guise of stabilizing its border with Myanmar, has deeply inserted itself into the nation’s internal affairs.
- The US supports Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement and has provided nearly $500 million in assistance under the Burma Act of 2021, including some non-lethal military support.
India’s Strategic Silence:
- Despite the significant impact on India’s internal and external security, there has been minimal discussion in Delhi regarding how to tackle the Myanmar crisis.
- It’s time for the Indian government to reconsider its previous policy bias favoring Myanmar’s military, which is no longer capable of securing India’s interests.
- Delhi must now initiate dialogue with Myanmar’s National Unity Government, comprising the democratic opposition and ethnic armed groups.
- While engaging with the military is crucial, New Delhi should also open communication channels with local forces controlling regions along the 1,600-kilometer land border with Myanmar.
Conclusion:
- The Myanmar crisis has brought major power play to India’s neighborhood. India needs a clear Myanmar policy. Simply playing defense by fencing the border with Myanmar is wholly inadequate in addressing the challenge on India’s eastern frontier.
Indian Express Editorial Summary
Topic-2 : India Employment Report 2024
GS-3 : Economy
Revision Notes
Question : Discuss the findings and implications of the India Employment Report 2024, highlighting both positive and negative aspects of the country’s employment landscape.
- Official Data: The report relies primarily on official data from:
- Employment and Unemployment Surveys (EUS)
- Periodic Labour Force Surveys (PLFS) conducted by NSSO
- Comparability: Despite changes in PLFS sample design, estimates are comparable to EUS due to high precision in all-India and state-level data.
- Analysis Period: The report analyzes data from four years: 2000, 2012, 2019, and 2022, covering the past 22 years, including the Covid period.
Highlights of the India Employment Report 2024: Positive Aspects
- Improvement in Employment Conditions:
- The report shows an improvement in employment quality across all states, as measured by a robust Employment Condition Index.
- This is further supported by the rise in the share of non-farm employment (and decline in agricultural employment) between 2000 and 2019, which is a typical trend in developing economies and indicates a structural transformation of the Indian economy.
- This trend was accompanied by a steady increase in regular employment and a decrease in unorganized sector employment, which only halted during the Covid period.
- Rise in Female Workforce Participation Rate (FWPR):
- The significant increase in the FWPR from 24.5% in 2019 to 37.0% in 2023 is noteworthy, even though most of this participation is concentrated in the agricultural sector and consists of own-account and unpaid family work.
- Growth in Real Wages:
- The labor market displayed strong recovery despite the global slowdown caused by Covid.
- Compared to regular worker wages, the wages of casual workers even increased during 2019-22.
- Notably, the increase was more significant for lower-income groups.
- This, along with several social safety measures, likely played a crucial role in reducing extreme poverty and deprivation.
- It’s also worth mentioning that while farm jobs saw a massive increase during the pandemic (almost 9% per year), non-farm jobs also grew by more than 2.6%, exceeding the growth rate achieved between 2012 and 2019.
- Decline in Unemployment and Underemployment:
- Unemployment and underemployment rates increased until 2018 but declined thereafter.
- The overall unemployment rate has significantly decreased from 6% in 2018 to 3.2% in 2023.
- This trend holds true for the youth unemployment rate as well, which dropped from 17.8% to 10% during this period.
Highlights of the India Employment Report 2024: Negative Aspects
- Stagnant Growth in Labor-Intensive Manufacturing:
- The employment pattern remains heavily skewed towards agriculture, employing around 46.6% of workers (compared to 42.4% in 2019).
- This necessitates active steps to accelerate the creation of non-farm employment opportunities.
- The increasing capital and skill-intensive nature of production processes leads to labor market distortions, where despite rising educational attainment, unskilled and semi-skilled workers remain abundant.
- This highlights the need for a stronger focus on labor-intensive manufacturing.
- Low Female Workforce Participation Compared to Global Standards:
- Women’s participation in the workforce remains low, and they are primarily engaged in less remunerative jobs in agriculture, unpaid family work, and as own-account workers.
- To address this, there is a need to create more non-farm employment opportunities, particularly in rural areas, through investments in transportation, connectivity, and childcare access.
- Paradox of Rising Unemployment Among Educated Youth:
- With a significant increase in educational attainment, the unemployment problem in India is increasingly concentrated among educated youth, who account for nearly two-thirds of total unemployment.
- This trend has persisted for several decades.
- The unemployment rate rises with higher education levels, reaching 28% among graduates and above (with a higher proportion among women). While this has declined from 35.4% in 2018, the report identifies skill and qualification mismatches, especially at higher education levels.
- Improving the quality of education and imparting relevant skills in collaboration with the private sector remains a key priority for the coming years.
- Paradoxically, the proportion of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET) is quite high at around 28% in 2022, with females accounting for about five times the number of males. This group requires greater policy focus.
- Prevalence of Informal and Low-Productivity Jobs:
- Despite improvements in employment conditions over time, jobs largely remain informal and have low productivity.
- Over 90% of employment is informal, and 83% are in the informal sector (which was close to 90% in 2000).
- Robust wage growth, particularly for casual and lower-strata regular workers, strengthening social protection, active policies for formalization, and boosting labor productivity are crucial steps to improve the overall quality of employment.
Recommendations for Improving India’s Job Scenario:
- Promote employment-intensive growth:
- Focus on labor-based manufacturing and job-generating services and agriculture.
- Improve job quality:
- Enhance overall working conditions and productivity.
- Address labor market inequalities:
- Boost women’s employment and tackle the NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) population.
- Strengthen skill training:
- Bridge the gap between job demands and available skills through effective training programs with private sector involvement.
- Reliable data collection:
- Develop systems to capture the complexities of the changing labor market due to technological advancements.
Conclusion: India’s demographic advantage can be leveraged for at least another decade, alongside robust economic growth, to create a positive employment scenario.