THE pandemic and the lockdown imposed by the Modi government has led to an unprecedented collapse of economic activities and a severe contraction of the economy. Steep hike in unemployment is the most obvious manifestation of this reality. Instead of taking measures to address this catastrophic situation, let alone arresting this havoc, there is indulgence in gimmicks.

The terrible situation is manifest in the available data. As many as 50 lakh salaried people lost their livelihoods in the month of July, taking the total tally of those who lost jobs in the segment since April to 1.89 crore, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in a report released earlier this month. CMIE said that 1.77 crore salaried jobs were lost in April, the first full month that witnessed the coronavirus-induced lockdown. While the sector added 40 lakh jobs in May and June, it saw losses of another 50 lakh jobs in July. "On a net basis, the plight of salaried employees has worsened since the lockdown began. In April, they lost 17.7 million jobs. But by July, their losses had swelled to 18.9 million". With these jobs being "more resilient to economic shocks", the recovery in overall employment looks even more bleak. By all accounts, more than 15 crore jobs have been lost during this period, aggravating the overall environment of despair.

But, the government in its now familiar ways, has embarked on antics to divert attention from the horrific reality. On the excuse of streamlining the recruitment process for non-gazetted posts in the central government and public sector banks, the union government has approved the setting up of a National Recruitment Agency (NRA). The National Recruitment Agency initially will conduct entrance test (CET) for Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) and Railway Recruitment Board (RRB). Till now, information on the notified vacancies in various departments of central government departments, banks and Indian Railways was available in the public domain. But post NRA there will be no such disclosure.

Claiming that "It will lead to ease of selection, ease of job placement and ease of living, especially for those sections of society that are considered disadvantaged", the government is on a propaganda spree. Obviously, this is not to address the real problem of unemployment, but to divert attention from its abject failure.

The extent of government’s chicanery will be evident from the fact that in February 2019, the Railways advertised for posts in both technical and non-technical categories under Group D. One crore applied in each of these, but since then, in the last one and half years, nothing has moved. On top of that, along with announcement of  privatisation of Railways, the intention of freezing 50 per cent  posts have also been stated.

Though the proposal for setting up NRA was made during the budget, the timing of its notification is clearly to create a smokescreen over its abject failure to provide jobs. The unemployed youth need jobs, not ease of ‘recruitment tests!’ It also defies logic as to how recruitment for jobs in three different spheres can be addressed through a common test. Therefore, such a pointless and dishonest exercise must be rejected with all the contempt it deserves.  The young people must build a powerful united struggle to force the government to adopt policies towards creation of real employment.