This refers to the editorial "The wrong growth" (January 14). Even as the government is struggling to balance economic growth and inflation, slow job generation has added to the complexity. The structural problems of the economy could be traced to its transition from agriculture to the services industry, mostly bypassing the manufacturing sector. Thus, while the contribution of agriculture to the gross domestic product (GDP) shrank from 55.3 per cent in 1950-51 to 21.8 per cent by 2009-10, it still contributed 53.2 per cent to total employment. But the services sector, which commanded 53.7 of the GDP by 2009-10, provided just 25.3 per cent of the jobs. On the other hand, the manufacturing sector offers accelerating growth and better job opportunities. It is reported that the government has cleared 300 projects worth Rs 6 lakh crore. However, the investment-consumer path in manufacturing has many hurdles to cross in the form of multiple licences, labour laws and a labyrinth of restrictions.
Y G Chouksey Pune
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