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Urban unemployment rate in India has fallen to a four-year low, Budget document for 2023-24 showed on Wednesday.
In June 2019, the urban unemployment rate was at 8.9 per cent, which peaked at 20.9 per cent during the COVID period, and has fallen since then to 7.2 per cent in September 2022, data revealed. "Investments in Infrastructure and productive capacity have a large multiplier impact on growth and employment," Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech. "After the subdued period of the pandemic, private investments are growing again. The Budget takes the lead once again to ramp up the virtuous cycle of investment and job creation." Capital expenditure outlay is being increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 per cent of GDP. "This will be almost three times the outlay in 2019-20," Sitharaman said. The Economic Survey tabled on Tuesday stated that while the pandemic impacted both labour markets and employment ratios. However, sustained efforts in the last few years and quick response after the pandemic, and quick vaccination helped. Presenting the Union Budget, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday pegged the fiscal deficit target for 2023-24 at 5.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). In 2022-23, the government pegged fiscal deficit at 6.4 per cent. The Finance Minister further said that the government intends to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by the financial year 2025-26. The Economic Survey, tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday, noted India's GDP is expected to grow in the range of 6 to 6.8 per cent in 2023-24. (ANI)
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