Unemployment below pre-pandemic levels, down from 7.2% in Jan 2020 to 6.5% in Jan 2023: Union minister

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that unemployment in India is below pre-pandemic levels, down from 7.2 per cent in January 2020 to 6.5 per cent in January 2023.

VIDEO | “Unemployment in India is below pre-pandemic levels down from 7.2 percent in January 2020 to 6.5 percent in January 2023,” says Union minister @HardeepSPuri. pic.twitter.com/8vmKfxamWR

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 4, 2023

He said that over 2.9 crore youth between the 18-23 age bracket have been added to the EPFO since April 2020.

Hailing the extraordinary changes witnessed in the country in the last nine years, Puri said that India is now moving in the direction of being the third-largest economy in the world.

“Today foreign policy and trade policy is being implemented with the view to benefitting the Indian citizens, India and India and the world. A leader and country led by a leader with broad shoulders will be judged not by how the country fairs in normal times but by how it responds to challenges. The challenge of the pandemic was once in a lifetime challenge,” said Puri referring to the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

#WATCH | Today foreign policy and trade policy is being implemented with the view to benefitting the Indian citizens, India and India & the world. A leader and country led by a leader with broad shoulders will be judged not by how the country fairs in normal times but by how it… pic.twitter.com/S1p7KFGQ8i

— ANI (@ANI) August 4, 2023

On fuel prices, the minister said that PM Modi personally monitored the situation and on two occasions – November 2021 and May 2022 – he reduced the central excise on petrol and diesel by a significant part.

“The BJP-ruled states immediately reduced VAT. The only parts of our political system that talks about high fuel prices are the ones that have not reduced VAT,” said Puri taking swipe at the non-BJP ruled states.

Talking about the humanitarian streak of the Modi government, Puri said that India today is capable of heavy lifting.

“The humanitarian streak and with the PM’s policy, we are today a country which is capable of heavy lifting and we have shown that capacity when an earthquake struck Turkey,” said the Union minister.

With inputs from agencies