Task Force On Jobs Mooted

The Planning Commission today decided to set up a task force to suggest ways to generate 50 million new employment opportunities during the Tenth Five Year Plan.

The task force, comprising secretaries from the state governments, NGOs and representatives of the central ministries, will be headed by S P Gupta, member, Planning Commission.

This was decided at the national conference of state government planning secretaries, which was chaired by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman KC Pant today.

The agenda for this task force would be to identify sectors and economic activities at the state level which have large employment potential and to provide holistic information on employment-related developments in the states.

The task force would carry forward the recommendations made by the two reports prepared by Yojana Bhawan recently on the issue.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, Pant emphasised the need to make labour laws more flexible and to encourage private investment in infrastructure to augment the employment potential of the economy.

He said that it was not just employment that mattered but also its quality. A worker should be able to afford a minimum standard of living. Special attention should also be given towards development of vocational training facilities.