Creating Jobs Is The Biggest Issue In This Election, Says Raghuram Rajan

Creating enough jobs for millions coming into the workforce every year continues to be the biggest challenge for India's economic growth, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan told Bloomberg.

“The biggest issue in this election seems to be on the economic front—the issue of jobs,” Rajan said, stressing over the need to shift people from agricultural jobs to jobs in manufacturing and the services sector. “For people already out of it, create better jobs.”

The key to employment is hidden in the country's construction sector, Rajan said, adding that India needs a much bigger construction sector to create more jobs in the economy. The biggest difference between India and China, according to Rajan, is the size of the construction business. “There are tons of houses, ports, airports and railway lines to be constructed, but for that you also need to fix (issues relating to) land acquisition.”

The Politics Of Elections

The focus of the election, according to Rajan, has moved from developing strong economic reform agendas that are needed to drive India's growth.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, he said, is emphasising their strengths in the matter of national security, instead of the economic reforms—one of their strong points in the 2014 election. “They don't think it's as winning a platform as earlier.”

Other Highlights

• The trade war conflict between China and the U.S. will have an impact on India.
• It's a good time for India to stabilise the economy and straighten its fiscal deficit.