Lin writes:
Their biggest problem other than the caste system is unemployment. Public shitting, rapes, riots…are things they used to and really no big deal. While it’s not unusual, employment is understated in many countries, US included. It is grossly understated in Bharat due to lack of both administrative means and political will. I read their official unemployment is something like 3% only. The real unemployment/underemployment could range from 20% to 50%.
- The majority of ’employed’ survive hand-to-mouth and don’t have year round income.
- Only a small %, can’t remember the exact number, say 6%, are in the ‘organized sectors’. Seems ‘organized’ means the employers registered with the gov. for revenue-taxation accounting purpose. Say a McDonald’s burger flipper belongs to the organized sector. The rest mostly are casual laborers, street vendors…snake charmers…
- The ‘made-in-India’ campaign to repeat the E-Asian experience of cheap labor manufacture for exports came too late. Even poor 3rd World China is investing big on robotics. Increasingly, hi-tech robots will be used to make ‘low-tech’ products like shoes, and I suspect apparel making will be included soon. Robots will be their competitors, not workers in other 3rd World countries.
See here and here.
I think Lin is onto something here. Anyone else care to chime in?