Rajasthan can generate 22 lakh additional jobs: Assocham

It has suggested a seven point detailed 'Action-Agenda for New Govt of Rajasthan' to CM Vasundhara Raje

Rajasthan can generate an additional 22 lakh employment opportunities in both organised and unorganised sector if the state's economy is able to sustain over 8% growth rate during next five years, industry body Assocham said today.

"Rajasthan has registered significant growth economic growth rate and can generate around 20 lakh jobs in organised and unorganised sectors, as well as 2 lakh direct and indirect job opportunities through oil refinery," chamber's Secretary General D S Rawat told PTI.

He said that Assocham suggested a seven point detailed 'Action-Agenda for New Government of Rajasthan' to chief minister Vasundhara Raje recently and the projection was based upon the simple regression model according to which the assumption of employment generation is largely dependent on economic growth which has immediate effect on job creation.

The boyd has also proposed to partner the state government to implement and achieve the objective of its vision document for Rajasthan.

"Rajasthan has registered robust economic growth rate of 8.2% slightly higher than the national average of 8% during 2004-05 and 2012-13," says a study prepared by the Assocham Economic Research Bureau (AERB).

There has been a significant decline of almost 6% in the contribution of agriculture sector to the gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Rajasthan which fell from 25% in 2004-05 to 19% in 2012-13, it said.

"Frequent droughts, rapidly depleting groundwater level, lack of investments and absence of modernisation in agriculture practices are certain key issues hindering the growth of agriculture in Rajasthan."

The apex industry body suggested that the new state government should promote the agriculture sector and maximize farm income by a co-ordinated approach focusing on best utilisation of available water with higher productivity, crop diversification, value addition together with strong emphasis on livestock development.

Rajasthan has recorded a surge in the share of industrial sector in the GSDP which increased from 30.5% in 2004-05 to 31.3% in 2012-13 thereby indicating the strong pace of industrialisation in the state.

In its vision document, Assocham has suggested the state government to ensure sustainable development of marginal, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to further increase the industrial growth, create more jobs and improve industries' share in the GSDP.