Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced 10 lakh jobs in next 18 months. Various government departments have flagged number of vacant posts and also have raised concerns about work being affected due to lack of staff. It is a ploy to deflect criticism of his government’s abysmal record on unemployment that is at a four-decade high. 70% of the workers lost their employment in urban areas and 56% in rural areas, says study by Centre for Sustainable Employment. This is a latest promise, ahead of the 2024 general elections of creating 10 lakh jobs. In the past he had promised to provide two crore jobs every year. Having miserably failed in his promise of crores of jobs every year with record high unemployment, he is now seeking to deflect criticism over his abysmal record by announcing 10 lakh recruitments in "mission mode" in the next year and a half. Meaningful efforts have to be made to create new employment opportunities and to fill up vacant posts, as unemployment is the most burning issue in the country.
