How India's upcoming Budget can revolutionise the jobs market amid population spike

By the time the Budget of India in calendar year 2024 is announced in about 14 months from now, it is estimated that the population of the country would have crossed that of China. India’s estimated population of 1.43 billion will make it the most populous country in the world by the end of 2023.

The milestone for India is both an ecstasy and pain. It is ecstasy because we would have improved our GDP from $32 billion in 1947 to about an estimated $4 trillion by then. However, it is also a pain because building economic prosperity and per capita GDP for a large mass is a complex problem.

However, we would like to make a case that a budget soaked with the spirit of productivity and human capital building can sow the seeds for a massive boom in human capital productivity and go a long way in achieving this dream.

The central budget presents a policy window to look at the opportunity from the perspective of improving human capital; the rest will follow

-Shantanu Rooj, founder and CEO at TeamLease EdTech

So, here are the recommendations that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman can look to incorporate in Budget 2023:

Bring forward the NEP implementation from 15 years to 3 years because it proposes a new education architecture that signifies learning by doing, learning while earning, learning with modularity, learning with flexibility and learning with high employer signalling value.

Doing this would need massification of online learning by all Indian universities in partnership with employers to create innovative learning and education financing models. This shall also create the right habitat and the ecosystem that shall help us take our current 0.5M apprentices to 10 million apprentices in the next five years through the online degree apprenticeships offered by Indian universities in partnership with employers.

See Also: Key announcements FM Nirmala Sitharaman made in India's last Budget

Providing stimulus to skill development to help improve employability of the youth shall help bridge existing skill gaps. The world of organisations is changing fast owing to the developments in automation, digitalisation and advent of technologies like AI and ML. The new world of work needs employees who are multi-skilled and have cognitive skills apart from hard technical skills. A higher outlay by the government towards this will help the country make its youth better employable and globally competitive. A collaborative efforts between public and private sector entities will be useful in this re-skilling and upskilling initiative.

Providing social security to gig workers shall help promote the sharing economy; most employers believe that an enterprise focused, tech driven and platform based gig systems shall help them cut down on fixed costs and use the best experts for their projects.

The government, through its budget announcement, should bring formal regulations to help this booming sector grow, democratise and formalise. This will be critical for the growth of the economy and shall help provide a boost to this alternate form of employment.

Implementation of the four new labour codes in a methodical way; urgent framing of the labour rules by every state in alignment with the central rules shall help remove any ambiguity and a smooth roll out in the new fiscal. These labour codes should help establishments improving their human capital by replacing the 29 old labour laws. However, the government should create a team to look into combining these four codes into a single labour code by the following Budget.

The Indian economy has performed well in the face of severe global recessionary trends. However, this has started impacting the margins by slowing down exports driven by muted global demand. Improving public spending on physical and digital infrastructure by a minimum of 25%, attracting private investments through the right incentive model, providing additional sops for sectors and industries that create additional formal employment, continuing on the concessional tax regime for the manufacturing sector and helping promote the green economy shall help boost job creation for the country and can catapult the country into the next orbit of growth.

At this juncture of growth, India needs to think about where should it spend its capital, how is the capital financed rather than bothering about the quantum of money spent. No amount of subsidy can effect what a well-designed education program can for the nation. Our current model of domestic consumption and services has important implications that have not fully played out yet.

The central budget presents a policy window to look at the opportunity from the perspective of improving human capital; the rest will follow!

(The author is the founder and CEO of TeamLease EdTech)

Budget glossary: Important terms you should know ahead of Budget 2023

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Article 112 of the Constitution requires the government to present to Parliament a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure in respect of every financial year - April 1 to March 31. This statement is the annual financial statement. This statement is the main budget document.

Article 112 of the Constitution requires the government to present to Parliament a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure in respect of every financial year - April 1 to March 31. This state..

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The difference between total revenue and total expenditure of the government is termed as fiscal deficit. It is an indication of the total borrowings needed by the government. While calculating the total revenue, borrowings are not included. A deficit is usually financed through borrowing from either the central bank of the country or raising money from capital markets by issuing different instruments like treasury bills and bonds.

The difference between total revenue and total expenditure of the government is termed as fiscal deficit. It is an indication of the total borrowings needed by the government. While calculating the t..

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Consolidated Fund of India is the most important of all government accounts. Revenues received by the government and expenses made by it, excluding the exceptional items, are part of the Consolidated Fund. All government expenditure is made from this fund, except exceptional items which are met from the Contingency Fund or the Public Account.

Consolidated Fund of India is the most important of all government accounts. Revenues received by the government and expenses made by it, excluding the exceptional items, are part of the Consolidated..

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A Finance Bill is a Money Bill as defined in Article 110 of the Constitution. The proposals of the government for levy of new taxes, modification of the existing tax structure or continuance of the existing tax structure beyond the period approved by Parliament are submitted to Parliament through this bill.

A Finance Bill is a Money Bill as defined in Article 110 of the Constitution. The proposals of the government for levy of new taxes, modification of the existing tax structure or continuance of the e..

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Direct tax is a type of tax where the incidence and impact of taxation fall on the same entity. Income tax, corporation tax, property tax, inheritance tax and gift tax are examples of direct tax. On the other hand, indirect tax is a type of tax where the incidence and impact of taxation does not fall on the same entity. Customs duty, central excise, service tax and value added tax are examples of indirect tax.

Direct tax is a type of tax where the incidence and impact of taxation fall on the same entity. Income tax, corporation tax, property tax, inheritance tax and gift tax are examples of direct tax. On ..

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Customs Duty is a tax imposed on imports and exports of goods. The rates of customs duties are either specific or on ad valorem basis, that is, it is based on the value of goods. Rule 3(i) of the Customs Valuation (Determination of Value of Imported Goods) Rules, 2007 states that the value of imported goods shall be the transaction value adjusted in accordance with the provisions of its Rule 10.

Customs Duty is a tax imposed on imports and exports of goods. The rates of customs duties are either specific or on ad valorem basis, that is, it is based on the value of goods. Rule 3(i) of the Cus..

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The excess of expenses over receipts on revenue account is called revenue deficit. Revenue deficit = Revenue Expense – Revenue Receipts. This is an important control indicator. All expenditure on revenue account should ideally be met from receipts on revenue account; the revenue deficit should be zero.

The excess of expenses over receipts on revenue account is called revenue deficit. Revenue deficit = Revenue Expense – Revenue Receipts. This is an important control indicator. All expenditure on rev..

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