The Department of Economics of the IIS University organized a guest lecture on ‘Poverty and Unemployment in India’ on 23^rd January, 2018 in the Ojas Hall. Prof. Vijay Vir Singh, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Director of NITI Aayog Chair, Rajasthan University, presided over as the Guest Speaker. He was welcomed with floral greetings by Prof. C.R. Bishnoi, Head of the Department.

He began the lecture by discussing about the present scenario of poverty in India. According to him, growth of the country requires capital and high skilled intensive labor. The agricultural sector provides 49% employment but accounts for 13% share in GDP. 50% of the workforce is self-employed. Following this, the manufacturing sector provides 11 % employment. The main cause of poverty is the inadequate incomes from jobs. 61% of the workforce is not finding work for full year. The focus of government is on twodimensional problem which includes skill and education and create employment opportunities. With the total of 117 million unemployed, 13 million are unemployed, 52 million are redundant and rest 52 million are women. As per the Sustainable Development Goals, India has to create 16 million new jobs. The study indicated that the rate of growth of job in the organized sector is greater than the rate of growth of labor force by a substantial margin. The session ended with a question and answers round from the audience.

The lecture concluded with a formal vote of thanks to the Speaker. The lecture proved to be an enriching experience for the students.