The Good Jobs Agenda for India

1 in 10 young workers in India meets our minimum good-job benchmark.

A job should support your life. And your future.

What is a good job?

A job counts as a good job when it meets the pay test and at least two of the other four.

Pay: Earnings that support your life. For our national assessment, we use a minimum benchmark of ₹20,000 a month.
Working conditions: A written contract and paid time off, for those who work for an employer.
Learning: Work that develops your knowledge, skill and judgement.
Advancement: Work that can take you further than where you started.
Security: Cover if you fall ill or grow old — or, for those working for themselves, pay high enough to stand in for it.

1 in 10 of young workers in India meet our minimum good-job benchmark.
56% of young diploma, ITI and degree holders are in work below their qualification, 2.0 crore people.
65% of young workers are in work with low advancement potential.

The share of young workers with a good job ranges from 2% to 48% across states.

Make ₹25,000 a national earnings target for full-time work. India should adopt a national target: everyone working full time should earn at least ₹25,000 a month.
Every economic policy should be judged by the jobs it creates. Governments should have an employment policy that reviews every economic policy, including industrial and trade policies, tax incentives, public investment and programmes, and tracks four things: the number of jobs created, the share that are regular, social security coverage, and wage growth.
Raise earnings from self-employment. Farming, crafts, trades, repair work and retail contain substantial knowledge and skill.
Skilling must follow jobs. India has asked young people to study longer, acquire skills and become more employable.
One immediate step towards good jobs: extend social security. India has already registered nearly 32 crore unorganised workers on e-Shram.