Critical Analysis of a Development Intervention

Critical Analysis of a Development Intervention
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Critical Analysis of a Development Intervention
Introduction
In this paper, I will examine self-employment programs as an intervention to curb poverty in urban areas using development theories. It focuses specifically on the various employment generation programs designed to generate employment for the poor in society. The paper advocates that empowering individuals to become self-employed is a huge step towards reducing poverty in urban areas. With the advancement of modern technology, a majority of the laborers from the rural areas lack the required skills to get employment once they migrate to the urban areas. The paper underscores the need for the government to empower individuals to become self-reliant as opposed to relying on the few available job opportunities. The government needs to partner with other stakeholders to create opportunities which are meant to empower individuals in urban areas to become self-employed and reduce the level of poverty in the country.
Discussion
The idea of development has become as major issues as nations around the world seek to change the lives of the citizens. According to Harriss (2014), development denotes a shift of the agrarian societies to premodern institutions. India, just like other countries has experienced considerable growth over the years. Currently, India remains one of the most populous nations in the world today with about 1.3 billion people (United Nations, 2018). It also has high levels of poverty. According to Venkatanarayanan (2015), the economic reforms of 1991 saw India become part of the global economy. Ever since, the economy has been growing steadily to become the fourth largest in the world. In the past two decades, a significant portion of the population has benefited from the economic growth. These individuals have gained access to the global economy and market and transformed their lives.
Nonetheless, the fruits of economic growth have not benefited all individuals in the country. A significant number have been left behind leading to uneven development in the country. One of the reasons for this phenomenon is the deployment of modern technology which has reduced reliance on labor. More goods and services are produced with less labor. Hence, the modern economy is not generating much employment and often replaces labor with machines. Hence, despite the growth of the economy over the years, unemployment has been on the rise. A significant portion of the country’s population is illiterate. Even those who are educated lack the skills to operate in the modern economy. Due to the lack of opportunities in the rural areas, a majority of rural labor moves to the cities in search of employment. However, these individuals lack employable skills hence they end up doing odd jobs. The urbanization experienced in the country is mainly because of the acute poverty in the rural areas which drives more individuals in the urban areas. Hence, in urban areas, unemployment has remained relatively high. Poverty reduction for the urban population has remained one of the central concerns in India.
The unemployed cannot afford to live in a decent place. They end up in the slums where life is affordable. According to the Economist (2014), slums offer an opportunity for rural migrants to seek a fortune in the cities. Further, a significant number of individuals do not live in slum areas for long because they proceed to undertake better things like establishing their businesses. Employment generation programs are meant to create employment for a particular time which enables the unemployed to develop skills for their future work.
Prior to 1990, the Indian government assumed that the unemployment problem would improve automatically with economic growth. Hence, the government did not deploy direct measures to deal with the issue on the premise that they could slow down the growth process by increasing consumption expenditure and reduce the economic surplus. As a result, unemployment in the country continues to increase. The government then decided to get involved in the generation of employment opportunities. Since India has both the public and private sector, the government committed itself towards enacting policies targeting the two sectors. The government acknowledged that the public sector is capital intensive and hence it was expensive to generate meaningful employment through the sector. Consequently, the government decided to concentrate on influencing the private sector to create job opportunities. The government devised various programs meant t...