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Get the answer of: Why Occupational Structure has not changed in India? (With Suggestions)
The occupational structure in India has not changed significantly over the years and a very large proportion of the work force is still engaged in the primary sector.
The reasons for this are the following:
1. Failure to Develop Agricultural Sector:
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A large proportion of the labour force is still engaged in the primary sector because of the failure of the agricultural sector to develop rapidly. The main reasons for this are low agricultural productivity existence of disguised unemployment and underemployment, failure of land reforms to provide land to the tiller, subsistence farming and dependence on nature for farm operations.
All these have resulted in increasing rural poverty. These underemployed and illiterate rural poor with low productivity have failed to shift to the secondary and tertiary sectors.
2. Rapid Population Growth:
Another important sector which has inhibited change in the occupational structure is the rapid growth of population. This has resulted in a large size of the labour force. This labour force is mostly concentrated in the primary sector because the majority of people in India live in rural areas. It has not been possible to shift it due to the lop-sided development of the secondary sector.
3. Slow Industrialisation:
The pace of industrialisation has been slow in India. The industrial development strategy has not been in keeping with the factor endowments of the country. It is based on capital intensive modern technology which has failed to absorb the growing labour force.
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The industrial policy has not been successful in encouraging small industries which absorb more labour. The public sector undertakings which occupy a predominant position in the organised industrial sector have been incurring losses and have failed to expand employment opportunities.
4. Slow Development of Infrastructure:
The development of infrastructure facilities in India has been very slow. Though huge investments have been made for the development of energy, transport and communications, banking, finance, insurance, etc., India still lacks in such facilities. This sector has high employment generation capacity, but it has failed to absorb sufficient work force for the reasons given above.
Suggestions to Bring about Changes in Occupational Structure:
To bring about changes in the occupational structure in line with the historical economic growth of developed countries the following suggestions are made:
1. Control of Population Growth.
The rate of population growth should be curtailed through effective family planning measures. This is essential because the proportion of total population in the labour force will increase further in the years to come as a result of changes in the age structure of the population.
The shifting of labour force from the rural to the secondary sector requires increase in agricultural productivity. Increased agricultural productivity helps in meeting the demand for raw materials of the expanding manufacturing sector.
With increased productivity, less workers are required to produce raw materials for industry and food grains for the population. It also increases agricultural surplus thereby raising saving and investment for economic development.
So concerted efforts are needed to increase agricultural productivity through technological advancement. This will ultimately lead to commercialisation of agriculture and production for exports, thereby earning foreign exchange for further development.
2. Change in Occupational Structure in Rural Areas:
The occupational structure of rural population should be changed to enable it to shift to the secondary and tertiary sectors. For this, there is the need to spread educational, health and infrastructure facilities in rural areas.
3. Development of Small Industries:
To reduce the pressure of population on land, village and small industries should be developed on a large scale in the rural areas so that the surplus labour force is absorbed in the secondary sector. This will also lead to changes in the occupational structure of the labour force without movement to urban areas.
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On the whole, the above noted measures will increase employment opportunities, increase incomes and reduce poverty in the primary sector and bring changes in the occupational structure of the work force.
4. Diversification of Industrial Structure:
Besides consumer goods which dominate the industrial structure of the country, efforts should be made with new policy initiatives to diversify and expand basic, capital and intermediate goods. The process of disinvestment of public sector undertaking and/or finding joint venture partners should be expedited.
With liberalisation, more new joint ventures should be allowed in the industrial sectors. Along with these measures, the ongoing process of spreading technical education will help in creating more employment opportunities, and change the occupational structure of the country.
5. Development of Infrastructure Sector:
Last but not the least, there is vast scope for employment opportunities in the infrastructure sector of the Indian economy. There is a huge gap between demand and supply of infrastructure facilities like power, transport, telecom, housing, etc.
So far infrastructure services have been provided by the public sector. With greater demand, changing technology and budgetary constraints, the government has not been able to provide these services adequately.
Urgent measures are required to reform and restructure these services by seeking the cooperation of both Indian and foreign private sector. Similarly, the opening of the banking, insurance and financial sectors to Indian and foreign institutional investors will help in expanding them. All these measures will enlarge the tertiary sector and pave the way for shifting the work force of this sector.