0.0 Nature of the Article

0.0.1 This is an editorial opinion piece written by P. Chidambaram.
0.0.2 The views expressed are personal opinions

0.1 Core Argument

0.1.1 The narrative that there is “no unemployment in India” is challenged.
0.1.2 The central issue is not lack of vacancies, but joblessness despite the existence of jobs.

0.2 Vacancies in Higher Education

0.2.1 Large numbers of sanctioned posts remain vacant in central universities.
0.2.2 As of April 2024:
0.2.2.1 Around 27% of teaching posts were vacant.
0.2.2.2 Around 47% of non-teaching posts were vacant.
0.2.3 In Kendriya Vidyalayas, over 7,700 teaching posts were vacant.
0.2.4 In Navodaya Vidyalayas, over 4,300 teaching posts were vacant.

0.3 Vacancies Across Government Sectors

0.3.1 Central Armed Police Forces had more than 25,000 vacant constable posts.
0.3.2 States such as Rajasthan, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh reported large clerical vacancies.
0.3.3 In the health sector, shortages existed in nurses, doctors, and paramedical staff.
0.3.4 In public sector banks, tens of thousands of posts across officers, clerks, and sub-staff remained vacant.

0.4 The Paradox of “No Takers for Jobs”

0.4.1 Government and quasi-government jobs offer job security, regular pay, allowances, pensions, and benefits.
0.4.2 Despite this, many sanctioned posts remain unfilled.
0.4.3 This indicates a deeper problem of lack of suitable or acceptable employment, not absence of vacancies.
0.4.4 Aspirants largely come from the lower middle class and recent graduates.

0.5 Evidence from the PM Internship Scheme

0.5.1 The PM Internship Scheme, launched in October 2024, offered about 1.65 lakh internships.
0.5.2 Only about 20% of offers were accepted.
0.5.3 Nearly half of those who accepted did not complete the internships.
0.5.4 A large number of internship offers remained without takers.

0.6 Structural Nature of the Employment Crisis

0.6.1 The problem of unemployment is long-standing and structural, not recent.
0.6.2 Two developments worsened the situation significantly:
0.6.2.1 Demonetisation, which disrupted small and medium businesses.
0.6.2.2 The COVID-19 pandemic, which caused widespread business closures.

0.7 Impact on MSMEs

0.7.1 Official and survey data indicate large-scale closure of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
0.7.2 A significant share of MSMEs shut down permanently or temporarily after 2016 and during the pandemic.
0.7.3 Closure of MSMEs led to massive job losses, particularly in the informal sector.

0.8 Rural Employment Concerns

0.8.1 Weakening of MGNREGA or replacement with constrained schemes reduces employment support in rural areas.
0.8.2 Rural women face loss of supplementary income.
0.8.3 Under-employment and distress remain widespread in rural India.

0.9 Overall Conclusion

0.9.1 The claim that unemployment is not a serious issue is rejected.
0.9.2 The real challenge lies in joblessness, under-employment, and lack of dignified work.
0.9.3 Joblessness remains a major structural weakness of the Indian economy, despite optimistic macroeconomic indicators.