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Radhicka Kapoor
Radhicka Kapoor is Senior Employment Specialist, Decent Work Team for South Asia, International Labour Organization (ILO). Prior to this, she was Professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). She has also worked at the Planning Commission and at ILO, Geneva.
Her broad areas of research interests include poverty and inequality, labour economics and industrial performance. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics, a Masters degree from Cambridge University and a Bachelor's degree from St. Stephens College, University of Delhi.
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Waiting for jobs
Assessing the extent of job creation in India is constrained by lack of comprehensive, real-time employment data. This column presents statistics from a detailed analysis of multiple data sources and surveys to examine latest employment trends. It confirms the languid pace of job creation in India, particularly in the organised sector, over the last few years.
The contractualisation of India's workforce: Explanations and implications
The employment structure of India’s organised manufacturing sector has undergone substantial changes over the last decade with a steep rise in the use of contract workers in place of regular workers.
The labour reforms debate: Broadening horizons
Even as the government has indicated that it plans to go slow on labour reforms and build consensus among all stakeholders, trade unions are protesting against “anti-labour” reforms. In this article, Radhicka Kapoor, an economist at ICRIER, emphasises the need to go beyond the narrow agenda of providing flexibility to firms to hire-and-fire and focus on decent work conditions and social security for workers in both organised and unorganised sectors.
Where will jobs in manufacturing come from?
Conventional wisdom suggests that labour-intensive, small industries are critical for generating employment. However, this column argues that policies favouring one type of industry over another - labour-intensive over capital-intensive, or SMEs over large enterprises - will not create the jobs the country needs. Rather, the key is to encourage new firms to enter manufacturing and to provide an enabling environment for businesses to expand.
Old or new: What’s driving employment growth in formal manufacturing?
As the government undertakes various initiatives for manufacturing, it is important to understand what type of firms drive employment growth in the sector. Based on data on registered firms from the Annual Survey of Industries from 2000-2016, this article highlights the importance of older, larger firms in creating jobs. It suggests that policies should encourage entry of new medium-sized plants and facilitate growth of dynamic, incumbent small and medium firms.