Why in news?
- Minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi presented in the Lok Sabha the data on the religious groups-wise unemployment in the country.
Why now?
- The data was presented in response to a question posed by Trinamool Congress member Prasun Banerjee.
- It was asked if the government had any updated data on the unemployment rate prevailing among minority communities.
- The data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of 2017-18 was cited.
- [The PLFS was launched by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2017 as a nationwide Labour Force Survey.]
- The details of unemployment rate accounted for the principal status and subsidiary status of people from major religious groups.
- These included Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism.
What is the religion-wise unemployment picture?
- Across the urban-rural and gender divides, unemployment rates vary among religious groups.
- The rate of unemployment among Christian men in rural as well as urban areas is higher than for men from other religions.
- It stood at 6.9% and 8.8% in rural and urban areas respectively in this category.
- In rural areas, the rate of unemployment among Hindu men was 5.7%, among Muslim men, 6.7% and among Sikh, 6.4%.
- On the other hand, in urban areas, 6.9% Hindu men remained unemployed; it was 7.5% among Muslim men and 7.2% among Sikh men.
- The rate of unemployment among women in urban areas was markedly more.
- It was 10% for Hindu women, 14.5% for Muslim women and 15.6% for Christian women.
- In rural areas, the rate was 3.5% for Hindu women, 5.7% among Muslim women and 5.7% among Sikh women.
- Among women, Sikh females (16.9%) accounted for the highest number of unemployed in urban areas and Christian women (8.8%) in rural areas.
What is the government’s response?
- Mr.Naqvi noted that the ministry has adopted a strategy to enhance the employability of notified minorities (Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains).
- Various schemes aimed at educational empowerment, employment-oriented skill development, etc were rolled out.
- He also said that most of the Centre’s socio-economic and educational empowerment programmes are meant for the poor and downtrodden sections, and the minorities are getting equally benefited from them.
Source: Hindustan Times
