Is Nagaland the ‘unhealthiest’ among smaller states? Does the state have the highest unemployment rate in India? If one goes by the two recent survey reports, the answers are affirmative and could be considered as a clear signpost for the policymakers and stakeholders to carry out corrective measures and tackle the problem, earnestly and at the earliest.
Is it proper to assume an ‘alarmist’ disposition, one might ask. Proper scrutiny of the reports would offer some answers.
The first survey, ‘The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)’ for July 2017-June 2018, released by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI), informed that Nagaland, at 21.4%, had the highest unemployment rate among the states and union territories (UTs) in India. The rate for 15-29 years age-group stood at an overall 56%, showed the survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).
Since the release of the report, many have questioned both the methodology as well as terminology adopted and used in the survey. Arguments are put forwarded defensively that only employment in the Government sector is considered as being employed by the populace.
The assertion is true to some extent and 56% unemployment level for 15-29 age-group cloud be considered natural as most in the cohort, are either studying or living off on parents’ largesse while waiting for opportunities to be ‘employed,’ at this period. It is a verifiable socio-economic phenomenon. However, assigning the outcome solely to such phenomenon is simply missing the point.
The PLFS was obtained by considering the usual status (ps+ss), a controversial new method adopted in recent times, obtained by considering the usual principal status and the subsidiary status together. The former includes persons “who either worked or were available for work for a relatively long part of the 365 days preceding the date of survey” and the latter are those persons from among the remaining population “who had worked at least for 30 days during the reference period of 365 days preceding the date of survey.” By combining two, instead of showing higher, the unemployment rate is supposed to be ‘lower,’ some economists had argued.
Against this backdrop, if one looks at applicants at the live register of employment exchanges in the state, the numbers are rising over the years - from 54,045 in 2009 to 68,504 in 2016, to 75,046 in 2018. The figure is pretty conservative given the fact that most people do not bother to register at the exchange.
The second report was the Second Edition of the NITI Aayog ‘Healthy States, Progressive India – Report on the Ranks of States and Union Territories‘ which depicted that despite some incremental improvements in some indicators, Nagaland was still ‘unhealthiest’ among the smaller states - a dubious distinction for two years in a row.
The State’s Health Index fell from 45.26 in 2013-15 to 37.38 in 2016-17 but improved slightly to 39.51 in 2017-18. Out of twelve indicators, Nagaland improved on five only and among the area of concerns were immunization, institutional deliveries and average occupancy rates top medical personnel. Coming on the heels of the not so rosy National Family Health Survey - 4 released last year, the dismal status of healthcare in the state is unambiguous.
This is not implicating that the state government have been inert on both counts. The state has been running an active immunisation programme in recent times, while it managed to cut the Infant Mortality Rate to the lowest in India. On the employment sector, new initiatives like Startup and Made in Nagaland policy are taking shapes - the result of which would be reflected in future surveys. These initiatives need to be augmented by others. If left unchecked and the status quo continues, these dismal reports have grave socio-economic ramifications.
Arguments are put forwarded defensively that only employment in the Government sector is considered as being employed by the populace.
The assertion is true to some extent and 56% unemployment level for 15-29 age-group cloud be considered natural as most in the cohort, are either studying or living off on parents’ largesse while waiting for opportunities to be ‘employed,’ at this period. It is a verifiable socio-economic phenomenon. However, assigning the outcome solely to such phenomenon is simply missing the point.
The PLFS was obtained by considering the usual status (ps+ss), a controversial new method adopted in recent times, obtained by considering the usual principal status and the subsidiary status together. The former includes persons “who either worked or were available for work for a relatively long part of the 365 days preceding the date of survey” and the latter are those persons from among the remaining population “who had worked at least for 30 days during the reference period of 365 days preceding the date of survey.” By combining two, instead of showing higher, the unemployment rate is supposed to be ‘lower,’ some economists had argued.
Against this backdrop, if one looks at applicants at the live register of employment exchanges in the state, the numbers are rising over the years - from 54,045 in 2009 to 68,504 in 2016, to 75,046 in 2018. The figure is pretty conservative given the fact that most people do not bother to register at the exchange.
The second report was the Second Edition of the NITI Aayog ‘Healthy States, Progressive India – Report on the Ranks of States and Union Territories‘ which depicted that despite some incremental improvements in some indicators, Nagaland was still ‘unhealthiest’ among the smaller states - a dubious distinction for two years in a row.
The State’s Health Index fell from 45.26 in 2013-15 to 37.38 in 2016-17 but improved slightly to 39.51 in 2017-18. Out of twelve indicators, Nagaland improved on five only and among the area of concerns were immunization, institutional deliveries and average occupancy rates top medical personnel. Coming on the heels of the not so rosy National Family Health Survey - 4 released last year, the dismal status of healthcare in the state is unambiguous.
This is not implicating that the state government have been inert on both counts. The state has been running an active immunisation programme in recent times, while it managed to cut the Infant Mortality Rate to the lowest in India. On the employment sector, new initiatives like Startup and Made in Nagaland policy are taking shapes - the result of which would be reflected in future surveys. These initiatives need to be augmented by others. If left unchecked and the status quo continues, these dismal reports have grave socio-economic ramifications.