INTHEBLACK June 2022 - Magazine - Page 35
Left: Murals depicting
Bollywood actors at
Bollywood Park in
Mumbai.
Right: A property
exhibition in Mumbai
in May 2022.
Below: A customer
at a recently opened
IKEA store in Mumbai.
The Swedish brand
opened two such
stores in Mumbai
between December
2020 and December
2021, to meet growing
demand for its
products.
WOMEN AT WORK
AN OFTEN UNDER-UTILISED RESOURCE
COULD BE A POSSIBLE NEW SOURCE OF
GROWTH FOR INDIA – WOMEN.
Ministry of Statistics findings indicate that the
female labour participation rate in India fell to
16.1 per cent during the July-September 2020
quarter, the lowest among the major
economies, while World Bank estimates
put the figure at about 20 per cent.
“Over the next 10 years we wouldn’t be
surprised if that doubles,” says Darren Aw,
Asia economist at research consultancy Capital
Economics. “We’re upbeat on that, because
right now the percentage is very low when you
compare it to other emerging markets.”
Damage to labour markets during lockdowns
has been severe in India, but unemployment
rates have dropped quickly upon resumption of
‘normal’ life and business across the country.
Aw says limitations with social safety nets and
a high rate of informally employed people
mean that labour markets are probably not as
big a concern as in other developed markets.
However, he believes rising female labour
participation could be one factor that helps
drive economic growth.
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au June 2022 35