Lok Sabha Question No. 328 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-05
Subject: Impact of AI
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Manish Tewari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 328 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05 TH  FEBRUARY, 2024

## IMPACT OF AI

## 328.   SHRI MANISH TEWARI:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  study  to  determine  the impact  of  AI  and  automation  on  the  labour  market  of  India,  if  so,  the details thereof;
- (b) the  details  of  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure  that  new  jobs roles are created to adapt the workforce to the rise of AI and automation;
- (c) whether the Government has undertaken any projects for upskilling and reskilling the Indian labour market; and
- (d) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the study by McKinsey Global Institute titled 'Generative AI and the Future of Work in America,' which predicts that jobs requiring some kind of automation, such as data collection and repetitive tasks, will be replaced by AI?

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## ANSWER (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a)  to  (d):    The  data  on  Employment  and  Unemployment  is  collected  through Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS)  which  is  conducted  by  the  Ministry  of Statistics  &  Programme  Implementation  (MoSPI)  since  2017-18.  The  survey period is July to June every year.

As  per  the  latest  available  Annual  PLFS  Reports,  the  estimated  Worker Population Ratio (WPR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above during the last three years are as follows:

| Years   |   WPR (in %) |
|---------|--------------|
| 2020-21 |         52.6 |
| 2021-22 |         52.9 |
| 2022-23 |         56   |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI

The data indicates that the worker population ratio, indicating employment, has an increasing trend over the years.

The Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) is conducted by Labour Bureau which  aims  to  assess  the  employment  situation  in  respect  of  selected  nine sectors of non-farm economy of India over successive quarters. Selected nine sectors  are  Manufacturing,  Construction,  Trade,  Transport,  Education,  Health, Accommodation & Restaurants, Information Technology (IT)/ Business Process Outsourcing  (BPO)  and  Financial  Services.  As  per  the  fourth  round  of  QES (January-March,  2022),  the  estimated  total  employment  in  the  nine  selected sectors was 3.18 crore as compared to 2.37 crore in the sixth Economic Census (2013-14).

As  per  the  fourth  round  of  QES  (January-March,  2022),  the  estimated employment in the Information Technology (IT)/ Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector has increased to 38.31 lakhs as compared to 20.71 lakh during first round of QES (April-June, 2021), which indicates the increase in employment in IT/BPO sector.

The Government considers Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be kinetic enabler for  the  growth of  our  digital  economy,  investments and jobs. The Government has  taken  various  initiatives  to  expand  AI  ecosystem  and  connect  the  AI opportunities to the youth of the country.

The Government has initiated 'Future Skills PRIME' aims for Reskilling/Upskilling  of  IT  Manpower  for  Employability  in  10  new/emerging  technologies. These  include  AI,  Blockchain,  Robotics,  Big  Data  &  Analytics,  IoT,  Virtual Reality, Cyber security, Cloud Computing, 3D Printing and Web 3.0.

The  Visvesvaraya  PhD  Scheme  aims  to  enhance  the  number  of  PhDs  in Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) and IT/IT Enabled Services (IT/ITES) sectors including AI and Emerging Technologies.

The Government has launched Responsible AI for Youth 2022, on July 30, 2022. The Programme was designed to reach out to students from Government schools on pan India basis and provide them with an opportunity to become part of the skilled workforce in an inclusive manner.

The Government has launched 'YUVAi: Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI'A National Programme for School Students with the objective of enabling school students from classes 8th to 12th with AI tech and social skills in an inclusive manner. The programme will provide a platform for youth to learn and apply AI skills  in  8  thematic  areas-  Krishi,  Aarogya,  Shiksha,  Paryavaran,  Parivahan, Grameen Vikas, Smart Cities and Vidhi aur Nyaay.

National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 recognises the role and importance of curricular and pedagogical initiatives, including the introduction of contemporary subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI)to develop such skills in  students  at  all  levels.  Central  Board  of  Secondary  Education  (CBSE)  had introduced 'Artificial Intelligence' in its affiliated schools in the year 2019.

The Government is implementing a programme for skilling of rural youth for entrepreneurship development through Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs).

Further, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is implementing the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), Pradhan Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana  (PMKVY),  Jan  Shikshan  Sansthan  (JSS)  Scheme and  Craftsman  Training  Scheme  (CTS)  through  Industrial  Training  Institutes (ITIs) to enhance the employability of youth.

Besides these initiatives, various flagship programmes of the Government such as Make in India, Start-up India, Stand-up India, Digital India, Housing for All etc. are also oriented towards generating employment opportunities.

All these initiatives are expected to collectively generate employment in the medium to long term through multiplier-effects.

NITI Aayog had released the 'National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence' (NSAI). NITI Aayog has decided to focus on five sectors that are envisioned to benefit  the  most  from  AI  in  solving  societal  needs:  a)  Healthcare:  increased access and affordability of quality healthcare, b) Agriculture: enhanced farmers' income,  increased  farm  productivity  and  reduction  of  wastage,  c)  Education: improved  access  and  quality  of  education,  d)  Smart  Cities  and  Infrastructure: efficient  and  connectivity  for  the  burgeoning  urban  population,  and  e)  Smart Mobility  and  Transportation:  smarter  and  safer  modes  of  transportation  and better traffic and congestion problems.

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