Regional Economic Growth and Employment Generation in Jammu and Kashmir in New Economic Policy Period

Abstract

Government of India introduced privatisation and decentralization policy in 1992. It is necessary to evaluate the performance of regional economies in the new economic policy period. The study is also important in view of the growing inter- sectoral imbalances in the national economic growth and marginalization of employment as identified by various studies. Since regional economies are largely agrarian and labour intensive, the marginalization of employment in agriculture and industries has serious socio- economic consequences leading to unemployment, poverty and political conflicts. newlineJammu and Kashmir is a special state located in the Himalayan region. It is an agrarian economy largely dependent upon animal husbandry, horticulture, agriculture, cottage industries and tourism sector which has developed in adaptive deterministic growth process. The evaluation of the impact of economy policy changes on the growth and structure of its economy and identifying the policies of employment generation in different sectors by identifying the productive (potential) employment generating sectors and the problematic sectors becomes mandatory so as to develop strategy for planned public investment for growth of the economy along with employment generation. newlineThe new economic policy of adoption of market economy in globalisation is facing institutional and structural conflicts in growth of national and state economy. The institutional conflicts may be identified in rigidities of the governance in decentralisation and development of the agrarian economies. The growing problems of unemployment in agriculture and industrial sector indicate the failure of public sector (Govt.) in creating economic capacities in agricultural regions. The capital intensification for increasing productivity and growth in short term is fastly marginalising labour from agriculture and industrial sector, while as labour absorption capacities are not created in the regional economies and requires labour absorbing model of economic growth. The structural imbalances can be