New Delhi — India, the world’s fastest growing major economy, is not firing on all cylinders.
That’s a problem for Narendra Modi, who has just won a third consecutive five-year term as prime minister, although without a simple majority.
The 73-year-old wants to make the country a $5 trillion economy before the end of the current decade. His plans for reform have been complicated by the narrower-than-expected election victory, and there are major challenges ahead.
One entrenched problem standing in the way of India’s superpower ambitions is the lack of jobs for hundreds of millions of citizens, particularly women.
There are over 460 million women of working age in India — more than the entire population of the European Union — and they are more educated, aspirational and healthier than any previous generation.
But their dreams are clashing against a harsh reality.
Take Gunasri Tamilselvan, 22, who fears having to quit the job that she loves.
The engineering graduate started working at Finnish electronics manufacturer Salcomp’s factory in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu last year. Tamilselvan is part of a sought-after team making mobile chargers for major smartphone brands, but she has had to fight both at home and at work for her right to be financially independent.
And now, she is running out of time. Her family wants to arrange a marriage for her as soon as possible. In South Asia, it is still a norm for parents find spouses for their children.
“My father has not been very comfortable with my work,” . “He has given me 10 months, after which he will choose a husband for me and get me married.”
If that happens, she would then have to negotiate with her husband and in-laws to continue working. It’s not the only battle she wants to win.
At the factory, she says she often works much harder to prove to her male colleagues that she deserves her place in the automation department, which involves dealing with the latest machinery.
Only about one-third of India’s working age women are active in the labor force, according to the World Bank, much lower than the global average of around 50%.
As a result, the country is missing out on billions of dollars. The World Bank said in 2018 that India could boost its rate of economic growth to 9% per year if around 50% of women were in the work force. (The economy grew by 8.2% in the fiscal year that ended in March.)
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