• People as Resource is a way of referring to a country’s existing working Population in terms of their Skills and abilities
• From the Productive aspect, Population Emphasises the ability to contribute to the creation of Gross National Product (GDP)
• Like any other resource, Population is also called Human resource
• Consider the problems of having a huge population, providing food for the population, education to them and health care
• Human resources will be developed as “Human Capital formation” when they are given education, food and healthy life. This will add productive power to the physical capital formation
• Investment in Human capital yields a return just like it does in Physical Capital, higher incomes earned due to higher productivity of more educated people and better-trained people
• Production need not be a burden to the economy, it can always turn into a productive asset by investment in Human Capital
• Not just educated and healthier people gain through their incomes, society also gains through indirect ways Educated and healthy people
• Human capital is way superior to other capitals like Land and Physical Capital. For many years in our country population considered a liability rather than an asset
• Investment in Human resources can give much higher returns in the future.
• A child with the investment made in his education and health can yield better returns in future in the form of greater earnings and valuable assets to society. This is one reason why educated people invest more in their children's education
• Contrary to this, the parents who did not invest in their kids’ education will end up having lower earnings and few disadvantages in life
• Countries like Japan, have invested more in Human resources because they don’t have natural resources. Now it’s a developed and rich country

1. Sectors of the Indian Economy

• The various activities have categorized into three and those are Primary, secondary and Tertiary sectors
• The primary sector includes agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry, farming, mining and quarrying
• The process depends upon the biological process of animals and the availability of fodder
• When we produce goods by exploiting natural resources, it is an activity of the Primary sector
• It is called the primary sector because it forms the base for all other products we subsequently make
• This sector is also called the agriculture sector
• The secondary sector is the manufacturing sector
• Primary things are converted into something else through the manufacturing process.
• Manufacturing is associated with Industrial activity and it is the next step after the primary sector
• The products are not produced by nature but they are produced with the products naturally obtained through a process called manufacturing
• This sector is associated with various industries to make fine products so it is called the Industrial Sector
• The tertiary sector includes Trade, transport, communication, banking, education, health, tourism, services, insurance etc. These activities in these sectors result in the production of goods and services. These activities add value to the national income
• The activities by themselves cannot produce a good but they need support for the production process
• These activities generate services rather than goods, it is called a service sector
• These activities are called economic activities and they are of two parts

2. Market activities and Non-market activities

• Market activities involve remuneration to anyone who performs i.e. activities performed for pay or profit
• Examples: Goods, Services and Government service
• Non-Market activities: Production for self-consumption. These can be the consumption and processing of primary products and own account production of fixed assets
• Due to historical as well as cultural reasons, there will be a division of labour between men and women
• Women usually take care of the household activities or chores and men work in the fields women are not paid for their services delivered to the family
• Women will only be paid when they enter into the labour market and their earning like that of their male counterparts is determined based on education and skill
• Education helps in acquiring major economic opportunities around them. Education and skill are major important things to earn in the market, The majority of women have the least education as well as low skill formation
• Women are paid low when compared to men, most women work where job security is not there
• In the employment sector, basic facilities like maternity leave, child care and other social security systems
• Women are paid equally when their skill set and education are on par with men
• In organized sectors teaching and medicine attract them the most, some women entered into administrative and other services which require high levels of scientific and technological skill set

3. Quality of population

The quality of the population depends on literacy rate, life expectancy, and skill set. The quality of the population eventually decides the growth rate of the country. Literate and healthy people are an asset

Education

Education contributes towards growth of the society, enhances national income, and cultural richness, and increases governance efficiency

• There is a provision made for providing universal access, retention and quality in elementary education with a special emphasis on girls
• Established Navodaya Vidyalaya in each district
• Vocational streams have been developed to equip a large number of high school students with skill development programs to acquire a job
• As per the 2011 census literacy rate varied from 94% in Kerala and 62% in Bihar
• Mid-day meal scheme has been introduced to increase the children's attendance as well as their nutritional value

Sarva Siksha Abhiyan is a wonderful step to provide compulsory free education between the ages of 6 to 14. It is a time-bound initiative by the Central government in partnership with State governments and local governments. 

Health

• Health is an undisputed basic thing to provide every human being, so the improvement of the health status of every individual is an important priority of the government
• The national policy of our country also aims at improving the accessibility of healthcare, family welfare and nutritional support with a special focus on the underprivileged
• The infant mortality rate has come down from 147 in 1951 to 36 in 2020
• An increase in life expectancy and an improvement in childcare usually assess the progress of a country

4. Unemployment

In India, we have unemployment differences in rural and urban India. In the case of rural India, there is Seasonal, Disguised unemployment. Urban areas will have mostly Educated unemployment. 

Disguised Unemployment:

• This happens when a particular work requires 10 people, but there are 15 people for that work. So the 5 people are considered under disguised unemployment.
• In Urban areas, educated unemployment is a common problem, many youth with matriculation; graduation and post-graduation are not able to find work.
• There is unemployment in technically qualified people on one side and a lack of skills and unable to find a job on the other side.
• Unemployment leads to a waste of manpower resources, unemployed people will become a liability from an asset.

Understanding Unemployment

It does not include individuals who have stopped looking for work in the past four weeks due to various reasons. People who are not actively seeking a job but do want to work are not classified as unemployed.  People who have not looked for a job in the past four weeks but actively sought one in the last year are called the "Marginally attached to the labour force".  People who have given up looking for a job are called "Discouraged Workers".

Other Types of Unemployment 

• Demand Deficient Unemployment: It is the biggest cause of unemployment. It happens during a recession when companies experience a reduction in the demand for their products or services. They respond by cutting back on their production, making it necessary to reduce their workforce within the organization. The workers are laid off due to its effect.
• Frictional Unemployment: It refers to those workers who are in between jobs. If a worker recently quit or was fired and is looking for a job in an economy that is not experiencing a recession. It is an easy thing for the employee to find a job that is most suitable for their skills.
• Structural Unemployment: It happens when the skill set of a worker does not match the skills demanded by the jobs available or when workers are available but are unable to reach the geographical location of the jobs. For example, a teaching job requires relocation to Canada, but the worker cannot secure a work visa due to certain visa restrictions. There is a technological change in the organization, such as workflow automation that displaces the need for human labour.
• Voluntary unemployment: It happens when a worker decides to leave a job because it is no longer financially compelling. An example is a worker whose take-home pay is less than his or her cost of living.

 Effects

• Unemployment tends to overburden the economy
• Dependence of unemployed persons will increase
• Quality of life of an individual and a society is adversely affected
• Unemployment has a detrimental effect on the overall growth of an economy

• The impact of unemployment can be felt by both the workers and the national economy causing a ripple effect.
• Unemployment causes workers to suffer financial hardship that impacts families, relationships and communities.
• it happens when consumer spending, which is one of an economy's key drivers of growth goes down, leading to a recession or even a depression when left unaddressed.
• It results in reduced demand, consumption and buying power, which causes low profits for businesses and leads to budget cuts and workforce reductions.
• It creates a cycle that goes on and it is difficult to reverse without some type of intervention.

Long-term Unemployment V/s Short-term Unemployment

• Unemployment that lasts more than 27 weeks even if the individual has sought employment in the last four weeks is called long-term unemployment.
• Its effects are far worse than short-term unemployment for obvious reasons.
• 56 per cent of the long-term unemployed reported a significant decrease in their net worth.
• Financial problems are not the only effects of long-term unemployment as 46 per cent in a state-reported experiencing strained family relationships.
• The figure is relatively higher than the 39 per cent who were not unemployed for as long.
• Another 43 per cent of the long-term unemployed reported a significant effect on their ability to achieve their career goals.
• long-term unemployment led to 38 per cent of these individuals losing their self-respect and 24 per cent seeking professional help.