Comment on the challenges for inclusive growth which include careless and useless manpower in the Indian context. Suggest measures to be taken for facing these challenges.
Approach · directive: “comment / suggest”
What it asks · Comment on how a workforce that is indifferent to quality and a large body of unemployed or unemployable people hold back inclusive growth, and suggest measures.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Comment on the challenges to inclusive growth, including a careless (indifferent) and useless (unemployed or unemployable) workforce
- Suggest measures to face these challenges
Open with · The Eleventh Plan aimed at growth 'both faster and more inclusive', which rests on productive employment; India's manpower is large but under-prepared, with only 4.4 per cent of youth aged 15-29 formally trained (PLFS 2022-23).
Cover
- Careless manpower: absenteeism, weak work culture and little accountability in schools, clinics and offices hurt the poor most.
- Useless (unemployable) manpower: degrees without skills; the Economic Survey 2023-24 says the workforce must adapt 'to be employable' amid Industry 4.0; vacancies coexist with joblessness.
- Structural drag: 45.8 per cent of workers in agriculture (2023); female LFPR 41.7 per cent against 78.8 per cent for men (PLFS 2023-24); about 78.5 lakh non-farm jobs a year needed till 2030.
- Measures, skills: NEP 2020 target of vocational exposure for at least 50 per cent of learners by 2025; Skill India, PMKVY and apprenticeships with placement tracking.
- Measures, jobs and women: labour-intensive manufacturing, MSMEs, rural non-farm work, MGNREGA; safe transport, childcare and the care economy; primary care and nutrition.
- Measures, accountability: citizen's charters, biometric attendance, performance-linked incentives and transparent monitoring.
- Measures, security: e-Shram (31.89 crore registrations) and the Code on Social Security, 2020, effective 21 November 2025.
Close with · A demographic dividend is not automatic: health, skills and accountability turn manpower into the engine of Viksit Bharat @2047 and of SDG 8, decent work for all.
Add value (verified)
- Eleventh Five Year Plan, Vol. I: the Plan addresses the challenge of making growth both faster and more inclusive. ↗“The Eleventh Plan addresses itself to the challenge of making growth both faster and more inclusive”
- Economic Survey 2023-24 (PLFS 2022-23): only 4.4% of youth aged 15-29 had formal vocational/technical training; 16.6% through informal sources. ↗“According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report 2022-23, 4.4 per cent of the youth in the age cohort of 15-29 years have received formal vocational/technical training, while another 16.6 per cent received training through informal sources”
- Economic Survey 2023-24: the workforce must adapt to remain employable as the economy transitions. ↗“The human resources who bring about this progression must also adapt to it to be employable in the changed scenario”
- NEP 2020, para 16.5: by 2025 at least 50% of learners in school and higher education shall have exposure to vocational education. ↗“By 2025, at least 50% of learners through the school and higher education system shall have exposure to vocational education”
- PLFS 2023-24: LFPR (15+, usual status) 78.8% for males and 41.7% for females. ↗“Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in usual status (ps+ss) for persons of age 15 years and above was 60.1% during July 2023 - June 2024. The same for male and female was 78.8% and 41.7% respectively”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 284words · Minimalist IAS
The Eleventh Plan aimed at growth 'both faster and more inclusive'; such growth rests on productive employment. India's manpower is large but under-prepared: only 4.4 per cent of youth aged 15-29 had formal vocational training (PLFS 2022-23, Economic Survey 2023-24).
Challenges: careless and useless manpower
- 'Careless' manpower: absenteeism, weak work culture and little accountability in schools, clinics and offices hurt the poor most.
- 'Useless' (unemployable) manpower: degrees without skills; the Economic Survey warns the workforce must adapt 'to be employable' amid Industry 4.0, while vacancies coexist with joblessness.
- Structural drag: 45.8 per cent of workers were still in agriculture in 2023 (Economic Survey 2023-24); female LFPR was 41.7 per cent against 78.8 per cent for men (PLFS 2023-24).
Other challenges to inclusive growth
- Job-poor growth: India needs about 78.5 lakh non-farm jobs a year till 2030 (Economic Survey 2023-24); regional imbalance and weak access to credit and markets add to exclusion.
Measures to face these challenges
- Skills: NEP 2020 targets vocational exposure for at least 50 per cent of learners by 2025; scale Skill India, PMKVY and apprenticeships with placement tracking.
- Jobs: labour-intensive manufacturing, MSMEs and rural non-farm work, with MGNREGA as the safety net.
- Women and health: safe transport, childcare and the care economy; stronger primary care and child nutrition.
- Accountability: citizen's charters, biometric attendance, performance-linked incentives and transparent monitoring reward the engaged worker.
- Security: e-Shram's 31.89 crore registrations (PIB, August 2026) and the Code on Social Security, 2020 (effective 21 November 2025) extend protection to informal workers.
Inclusive growth: skills; jobs; health; accountability; social security
A demographic dividend is not automatic: health, skills and accountability turn manpower into the engine of Viksit Bharat @2047 and of SDG 8, decent work for all.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
