Terming the criticism of jobless growth during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government as “spurious”, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that 70 lakh jobs were created in the financial year 2017-18 alone.

Mr. Kumar further said that growth in sales of transport vehicles, huge disbursement of Mudra loans and Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data show that enough opportunities for employment and self-employment were created over the past four years of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

Recently, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) government’s promise to generate two crore jobs annually had turned out to be a “gimmick”.

“With all due respect, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh does not put forward the data [on employment generation]. I think this is a spurious charge and I think the debate should be much more on further improving the quality of the jobs,” Mr. Kumar said. Noting that the production of trucks, three-wheelers and auto rickshaws is rising significantly, Mr. Kumar said: “According to EPFO data, 70 lakhs jobs were created in 2017-18.”

He further said if unemployment was rising in the country, then real wages in both rural and urban regions should decline, but that was not happening. “So, what is the basis for this [criticism of jobless growth during the NDA regime]? I think, the purpose is negative discourse for political aims and does not reflect economic reality,” he said.

Replying to a question on protests by farmers in some parts of the country, he said: “We have increased minimum support price (MSP) for farmers by huge amounts. The rural economy is in good shape, farmers’ income is rising.”

Global carbon emissions are set to hit an all-time high of 37.1 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2018, according to researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Global Carbon Project.

India, the third-highest contributor, is projected to see emissions rise by 6.3% from 2017. The 2.7% projected global rise in 2018 has been driven by appreciable growth in coal use for the second year in a row, and sustained growth in oil and gas use, according to the study that was published simultaneously Wednesday in several leading scientific journals.

This week, representatives from more than 190 countries have begun discussions at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 24) in Katowice, Poland, on ways to equitably cut carbon emissions.

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