🧑🏫 Introduction – How Are People a Resource?
- When a country’s population is turned into productive assets, it becomes a resource.
- Population is not a burden if it is healthy, educated, and skilled.
- Through education, training, and healthcare, people become an asset rather than a liability.
- This process is known as Human Resource Development.
🔑 Key Features of Human Resource
- Human resources make other resources useful (like land, capital, and tools).
- It is the foundation of economic development.
- A well-developed human resource contributes to a nation’s progress and prosperity.
- Skilled, educated, and healthy people increase national productivity.
🎓 Importance of Education
- Education improves knowledge, skills, awareness, and decision-making power.
- It opens the door to better job opportunities and higher income.
- Educated people contribute to society’s growth and democratic participation.
- It helps in reducing gender inequality and eliminating social evils like child labour.
- Government initiatives like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan aim at universal education.
🏥 Role of Health in Human Capital
- Health is wealth – a healthy person can work more efficiently.
- Illness decreases productivity and increases health expenditure.
- Investment in health leads to a stronger, active, and longer-living workforce.
- Healthy children perform better in school and grow into more capable adults.
💼 Types of Economic Activities
1. Economic Activities
- Activities done to earn income are economic activities.
- They include production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
- Two types of workers:
🔹 Main workers – Work regularly throughout the year.
🔹 Marginal workers – Work only for a short period.
2. Non-Economic Activities
- These are done for self-satisfaction, not for earning income.
- Example – household work by women, caring for children or elderly.
👨🏭 Sectors of Employment
1. Organised Sector
- Has fixed working hours, regular salary, job security, and other benefits.
- Examples: Government offices, registered companies.
- Rules and laws are followed. Employees get paid leaves, insurance, and pensions.
2. Unorganised Sector
- Workers do not have job security or fixed wages.
- Examples: Street vendors, daily wage labourers, domestic workers.
- No benefits like health insurance or paid leave.
- Exploitation and low wages are common.
📉 Unemployment in India
1. Seasonal Unemployment
- Found in agriculture-based rural areas.
- People are employed only during crop seasons.
- Rest of the time, they remain jobless.
2. Disguised Unemployment
- More people working than required.
- Even if a few leave, productivity doesn’t change.
- Common in rural farming – like 5 people doing the work of 3.
3. Educated Unemployment
- Seen mostly in urban areas.
- People have degrees but no suitable jobs.
- Leads to frustration and wastage of human capital.
📊 Impact of Unemployment
- Leads to wastage of manpower and increased poverty.
- Slows down economic growth and increases dependency ratio.
- Results in lower living standards and social issues like crime.
🏗️ How to Build Human Capital
1. Investment in Education
- Ensures literacy, skills, and awareness.
- Encourages vocational and technical training.
- Education makes people employable and independent.
2. Healthcare Facilities
- Access to public health centres, clean drinking water, and hygiene.
- Vaccination, nutrition, and regular check-ups should be provided.
- Ensures people live a healthy and productive life.
3. Skill Development and Employment Training
- Government should provide skill-based programs (like Skill India Mission).
- Support for start-ups, self-employment, and micro-businesses.
- Link training with local employment opportunities.
👩👧👦 Role of Women in Human Resource
- Women should get equal access to education, health, and jobs.
- Educated and employed women support family and economic growth.
- Women’s participation in workforce leads to inclusive development.
- Gender equality boosts social harmony and productivity.
🧮 Population – Burden or Asset?
- A large population without education and health is a burden.
- But the same population, when trained and skilled, becomes a resource.
- A country’s progress depends on how well it develops its people.
- Government must focus on converting population into human capital.
🏁 Conclusion
- People as a resource is about developing human beings as capital.
- Proper education, health, skill development, and employment opportunities are essential.
- If utilised properly, population becomes the greatest strength of a country.
- Human resource is the backbone of a nation’s growth and prosperity.