by Dr. Amit Basole, Professor of Economics and Head, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru & Author, Member of the Economic Affairs Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

All are welcome

Amit Basole is Professor of Economics at Azim Premji University. From 2017 to 2024 he headed the University's Centre for Sustainable Employment and was the lead author of the State of Working India reports. Amit's interests include labour and employment, structural change and the economics of artisanal industries. He is a member of the Economic Affairs Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and has served on several government committees on employment statistics. His other interests include Urdu and Bhakti poetry. He is co-author of Thinking with Ghalib: Poetry for a New Generation, and the host of two podcasts from Radio Azim Premji University, Yun Hota to Kya Hota: The World of Ghalib and Bhakti Republic.

Abstract

Employment and unemployment are always in the news in India. But there are many misunderstandings over the numbers and what they represent. In this talk, Prof. Basole will examine India's performance in job creation. He will also discuss short-run and long-run policy solutions to the employment challenge. His focus will be on "structural transformation" from an agrarian and informal economy to a formal industrial economy. As India approaches 100 years of independence, what will it take to eliminate poverty, substantially lower youth unemployment rates, and improve the standard of living of the vast majority? Are these goals achievable given new constraints imposed by demographic change (ageing), climate change and the end of the postwar rules-based order?

Date: Thursday, September 18, 2025

Time: 05:30 PM

Venue: C V Raman Auditorium, Lecture Hall Complex (LHC), IISER Pune campus