NITI Aayog's anti-poverty drive to focus on raising rural wages and creating jobs

NEW DELHI: NITI Aayog's task force on poverty elimination is likely to suggest a combination of steps - from raising rural wages through fast economic growth, mainly in agriculture, to creating more jobs in labour-intensive manufacturing sectors - to lift people out of poverty.

A senior official said the task force, which held its second meeting recently, was of the opinion that rapid economic growth generated employment and raised wages, which helped in pulling more people out of poverty. It was also of the view that migration-based poverty must be addressed urgently, he said.

The task force, headed by NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya and including member Bibek Debroy, is expected to submit its report by June. The panel was of the view that industrialization had to be through labour intensive sectors, with the focus on creating jobs in manufacturing.

Taking a cue from PM Narendra Modi's stress on the need to create more jobs in the manufacturing sector to eradicate poverty, the labour ministry is pushing reforms to improve ease of doing business in the country. The focus is on reviving the manufacturing sector, mainly small and medium enterprises.



As 90% of job creation is through MSMEs, out of which 95% is in the unorganized sector, the task force felt the focus should be on mainstreaming unorganized entrepreneurs and raising their productivity within the existing infrastructure. As far as direct anti-poverty schemes like NREGA are concerned, the task force will examine independent studies on the rural jobs scheme.