India’s Performance in the Achievement of SDG – 8: An Inquest with Special Reference to Employment Generation and Labour Force Participation

Abstract

In the last five years, since the adoption of the SDGs, India has been trying to improve in all aspects according to the set targets. Significant progress has already been made in India in recent years. India has taken several SDG initiatives in recent times. Most of the initiatives of the Government of India (GoI) are aligned with the SDG framework to steer development activities. At present, we have 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the specific targets for each goal are there. SDG – 8 for economic growth and decent work is one of them. The research question is how far India has achieved the targets of SDG–8 because this goal is directly related to economic growth. In this context, the paper attempts to analyse the performance of India in the achievement of SDG–8, presenting the trends of employment generation and labour force participation rate. These two indicators are analysed in this study with the help of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) database. It is possible to conclude from this analysis that the improvement in India's employment rate and labour force participation rate over the last decade has been insufficient.