London/Melbourne: Founders and CEOs of India's largest companies have routinely expressed concern about the country's widening skills gap, declining productivity, and the challenge of preparing young people for the workforce. Anand Mahindra, for instance, had warned that joblessness and unaddressed skill gaps could fuel social unrest. Yet, when such a 'prophesised' social unrest finally did erupt - in the form of NEET protests in support of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) - Big Business kept quiet.
At first glance, it might seem like businesses have nothing to do with the issues and demands raised by CJP. But businesses are, indeed, involved, at every stage. Two decades of extraordinary wealth creation by India Inc has not translated into employment at the scale needed to absorb a growing young workforce. The employment that has been generated is largely precarious and, in many cases, exploitative, especially in gig work that is yet to be provided the security of formal economy work.
