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Labor force biggest challenge to India
By agencies
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Friday, 02 June 2006, 19:30 IST
NEW DELHI: India is experiencing a strange dichotomy of not having sufficient jobs on the one hand and not enough skilled workers on the other-making labor force the biggest challenge for the country, says "A survey of business in India" of The Economist.
The survey, released today, was bullish on the sub-continent nation's economy, but said the government has to step up investments in infrastructure, health and education to ensure constant flow of skilled workforce as the industry was facing a shortage.
While staffing problem in BPO industry is not new, the dilemma is being experienced "less acutely (by industries) across the board, including IT and manufacturing," Simon Long, author of the survey said.
Talent crunch will be a problem, as it could affect productivity, he said.
The survey said: "India is at last ready to take the place in the world that its huge population should command. Business is booming, India is seen as the next big thing, and no large international company can do without an India strategy.
"But despite the positive outlook for the country and its economy, challenges remain."
It said the problems were twofold. "On one side there are not enough jobs. Seventy million people will join the labor force in the next five years. That's equivalent to almost a quarter of the increase in the world's working-age population.
"Currently 260 million people live on less than one dollar a day. India needs to help those leaving the farm and replicate in basic industry what it has achieved in IT," it said.