Productive government work-force is a prerequisite for effective public service delivery. However, in India, the productivity of government workers is a major public management problem. Critically examine the key problems and suggest policy measures to address them.

Skilled and productive workforce is the key driving force for the government to boost the economic well-being of its people. Growth of the manufacturing sector in India has enormous potential to provide social benefits to citizens and increase the per capita income and employment levels in the country. But our country is suffering badly from non-availability of quality and skilled quality workforce. Factors responsible for low productivity of workers are:
First is the absence of world class infrastructure in country. Though there are about 8,800 ITI’s and 450 polytechnics in India, Indian workers still lack high quality vocational training. As per latest found data, only 2% of India’s youth and only about 7% of the whole working age population have received vocational training related to their job profile.
Second is the rapid decline of Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in the existing manufacturing companies in India. This reduces the profit of an organisation and demotivates businessmen to further expand their business or invest in new manufacturing sector.
Third is the lack of availability of capital with government and private players to invest in new industry. Private Banks are very much prudent while sanctioning loans to government as well as private players, and public sector banks in India are already suffering from the problem of bad loans.  
All of the above mentioned factors are major hindrances in establishment of new industries and creation of jobs and thus are sort of demotivating factors in creation of skilled workforce in India
Measures suggested improving quality of skilled workforce in India:

• Nowadays most of the seats in private engineering colleges, especially those belonging to state universities, remain vacant due to high fees, poor quality studies and almost zero placement opportunities. Government should make a policy to convert these high cost engineering seats into low cost vocational training institutes. These will reduce the cost as there is no need to establish new institutions.
• Instead of increasing seats in courses like BSC, BCOM, and BA in existing universities, government should increase seats of ITI’s and polytechnics and motivate the youth to join these training institutes.

Topics: GS-II: Role of Civil Services in Democracy