Unemployment Allowance - Pros & Cons ~ Group Discussion Ideas

Table of Contents

Theme:

In elections time, almost all the political parties promise an unemployment allowance of approx Rs.3,000 per month to woo the young voters.
Some states such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh etc. are already providing unemployment allowance, but it is Rs. 1000 per month on average.

Pros of Unemployment allowance:

India is facing an unemployment crisis. Until now, the government is unable to provide enough employment opportunities for the huge population. And hence providing unemployment allowance can help the situation.
It supports unemployed youth in the process of applying and trying for jobs.
Few unemployed young people are taking extreme steps like committing suicide. Unemployment allowance helps in easing the pressure on them.
Many employed persons in India are underemployed. Though most of them want to settle in the job that is suitable for them, they do not find enough time to finesse their skills and to attend the interviews because of their jobs. With the support of unemployment allowance, they can take a gap of two to three months to settle in a better job.
The central government has the responsibility to provide unemployment allowance to workers who can’t get jobs under MGNREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme).

Cons of Unemployment allowance:

Unemployment allowance is an additional burden on the government.
India is the second most populated country. It’s practically impossible to provide unemployment allowance to the huge number of unemployed youth.
It is susceptible to be misused by some people who are self-employed etc.
People may lose motivation to find a job as unemployment allowance helps in feeding themselves.
politicians will continuously use this to woo voters, but may not work on improving employment opportunities.

Conclusion:

Unemployment allowance will help unemployed youth in the process of trying for jobs. But the proper implementation is required to make sure the benefits reach only the deserved people. Political parties should concentrate on improving employment opportunities in the long term. Otherwise providing unemployment allowance just to woo the voters will only worsen the situation.