‘Huge job loss despite strong economic indicators’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what appears to be a veiled criticism against the Narendra Modi government, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), a Sangh Pariwar outfit focussing on strengthening self-reliance on the economic front, said there has been huge job loss in the country despite strong economic indicators in the last few years.

In an interview with Express, SJM national co-convener Satheesh Kumar said there was serious job loss following dumping of cheap Chinese products in the country. “The big reason behind the job loss was the break down in the manufacturing industry. Across the country our manufacturing industry, especially the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and traditional sector, incurred a heavy loss and were forced to be close down even when the country was giving strong indicators on the economic front,” he said.

The textile industry at Panipat, cycle and sewing machine industry at Ludhiana, cracker industry in Sivakasi, garment industry in Tirupur, serial light industry in different hubs in the country suffered huge loss. Despite the Modi government’s launching of the ambitious project of ‘Make In India’, the supply chain of China’s manufacturing goods was not snapped yet.

He pointed out that the economic pillars were stable and economic indicators like Sensex and Nifty indices had crossed the 34,000 and 11000 marks respectively. The rupee has grown strong and stood at `63.65 per US dollar.

“We are a country of young people. We need maximum jobs to be created. Despite the launching of Make In India project, the current system is not helpful for the country,” he said. The US model and the Western market model cannot address the unemployment issue. Swadeshi development model is what suited India.
“In the Swadeshi concept, the young generation should become entrepreneurs.

Educated youths  should opt for launching Startups, SMEs, and turn to agriculture instead of waiting for government job or becoming an employee in a private firm,” he said. He said 42 percent of the employment is in the agriculture sector and 58 percent depend on it. But the income of the farmers is very low as the input cost is very high. It has to be brought down.

To begin with, zero budget natural farming propounded by Subash Palekar is ideal. Farmers have to bring out value-added product instead of selling the food grain as such. Food processing industry is a vital area where introduction of technology is vital. SME sector is also the backbone of the country’s economy. He said an SJM delegation had met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday and put forth its suggestions.

Satheesh Kumar along with another SJM  national co-convener R Sundaram are reaching out to the people to propagate the idea of  Swadeshi model development. “We have already met the technology people from IIT, Delhi, MNIT Jaipur and other institutions to provide job-friendly technology for the masses,” he said.