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The Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivering his keynote speech, at the plenary session of the World Economic Forum, in Davos on January 23, 2018 [PMO, India]
But media pundits in the country have revealed that the NSSO report indicates that the national unemployment rate reached 6.1 per cent, with urban areas showing the largest unemployment figures at 7.8 per cent, significantly higher than rural areas.
A similar report released by the the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy showed that the unemployment rate had risen to 6.9 per cent in October. The Centre also said that labor participation had fallen sharply to 42.4 per cent.
The recent figures are sure to play into election campaigning just before the world’s largest democracy heads to the polls in May.
The figures are at the centre of controversial claims that the Modi-led government is withholding the information. Earlier in the week, the acting NSSO chairman resigned in protest.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Index (PMI) registered strong growth from 53.2 to 53.9.
The reading is above the neutral 50-point level, signalling an expansion in the manufacturing sector, pushed by bigger sales.
A reading below 50 represents contraction.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
