The nominal market in which workers find paying

work, employers find willing workers, and wage

rates are determined.
Labour markets may be local or national (even
international) in their scope and are made up of
smaller, interacting labour markets for different
qualifications, skills, and geographical locations.
They depend on exchange of information between
employers and job seekers about wage rates,
conditions of employment, level of competition,
and job location.

 The labour market is defined as where the demand and

supply of labour interact. A labour market could be a

community, a city, a region, a country or a larger area.
The supply of labour includes all those who are either
working or looking for work, that is all those who are
participating in the labour force.
Demand for labour is determined by the demand for
employers' products (sometimes called consumer
demand), export demand, and government policies
among other factors, all of which are strongly interrelated. For example, an increase in the demand for
construction workers because of a major
construction project will result in an increase in
demand for workers in other sectors, such as those
that supply building materials, transportation and
hospitality and retail.

 Labour Market Information (LMI) is material

and data about the supply and demand for

labour within a certain labour market. It
describes the characteristics of the supply of
labour: the people who are workers or potential
workers in the market. It also provides
information on demand: job opportunities in
the market and the needs of employers.

 Active labour market policies (ALMPs) are

government programmes that intervene in the labour

market to help the unemployed find work.
There are three main categories of ALMP:
Public employment services, such as job centres and
labour exchanges, help the unemployed improve their
job search effort by disseminating information on
vacancies and by providing assistance with interview
skills and writing a curriculum vitae.

 Training

schemes, such as classes and

apprenticeships, help the unemployed improve
their vocational skills and hence increase their
employability.
Employment subsidies, either in the public or
private sector, directly create jobs for the
unemployed. These are typically short-term
measures which are designed to allow the
unemployed to build up work experience and
prevent skill atrophy.

The different Characteristics of labour markets are as

follows:
A commodity market refers to a physical place where
buyers and sellers of a particular commodity gather for
engaging in transactions while a labour market is viewed
as a process by which supplies of a particular type of
labour and demands for that type of labour are balanced,
is an abstraction.
Secondly, unlike a commodity market, the relationship
between a seller and a buyer in a labour market is not
temporary and as such personal factors, which can be
ignored in a commodity market, become important in a
labour market.

 Thirdly, unlike a commodity market, in a labour

market there is a lack of perfect mobility which

gives rise to a diversity of wage rates for the same
type of work and we do not find a normal wage
rate to which the market rate naturally tends.
Fourthly, wage fixing is an essential characteristic
of the labour market, where (in the absence of
unions) the buyer of labour normally sets the price
but in the commodity market, it is normally the
seller who sets the price.

In labour market the price that is set tends to be

fixed for some length of time. Employers do not
want wage rates to fluctuate with every change in
demand and supply conditions.
Fifthly, the labour market is far more complex than
the commodity market. Whatever is the occupation
or monetary reward of a person, each individual
feels that he is entitled to a decent treatment and
that the dignity of his person must be respected.

 The sixth essential characteristic of the labour market

of an expanding economy is that the vast majority of

individuals are employees while relatively small
minorities function either as employing persons or as
employed managers of employing units. As the vast
majorities are labours, they are interested in shortrun wage-levels, working hours and working
conditions.
As a result of industrialisation the average employing
unit has become larger in size, its bargaining power
has expanded while at the same time, the bargaining
power of the individual worker has shrinked and
become almost meaningless for all practical purposes.

Multiplicity of markets: There are thousands of

markets for different kinds of work. They differ widely
in skill level, geographic scope etc. They are but interrelated. Product market are linked by consumer choices
among goods, labour market linked by workers choices
among jobs.
2) No Central clearing house: For many goods there are
single point of sale. Even where there are many points
of sale , communication will be enough to hold the
price differences within the narrow bounds.
3) Workers not standardized: Raw materials or end
products are normally standardized. But when
company has to select out of the applicants, it will not
know the productive capacity, workers differ from each
other in age, sex, racial origin, also in intelligence,
physical strength , energy, work motivation etc.
1)

Continuity of employment relations: In buying and selling

goods, each day is new experience. But in purchase of a
labour, continuity matters. a worker is hired within
expectation of permanence, this has advantage for both
worker and employer. The company invests in the worker and
replacing the worker means losing the investment made.
5) Workers deliver themselves along with their labour: In
commodity market buyer and seller stand apart from the
product. These product have no direct effect in their personal
life. But the seller of the labour must be physically be present.
6) Workers inferiority in bargaining power: there are more
workers seeking jobs than the vacancies available. The
workers need job quickly, employer can afford to wait and
pick and choose among the applicants. Thus employer has
dominant voice in setting condition of employment.
4)

 Although a definition of human resource development (HRD)

is controversial, it has traditionally been defined in the context

of the individual, the work team, the organization, or the work
process. There is, however, a rapidly emerging emphasis on
HRD defined as a national agenda, often in the past labeled as
manpower planning or human capital investment. Within the
context of national HRD (NHRD), these terms are, however,
viewed as limiting and narrow. NHRD goes beyond
employment and preparation for employment issues to
include health, culture, safety, community, and a host of other
considerations that have not typically been perceived as
manpower planning or human capital investment. Several
countries in the world are now moving intentionally in these
direction .Such countries, including but not limited to the
Republic of Korea (South Korea), New Zealand, Singapore,
India, South Africa, Kenya, and many more, have developed a
radical approach to NHRD.

 Education in India is provided by the public sector as

well as the private sector, with control and funding coming

from three levels: central, state, and local. Under various
articles of the Indian Constitution, free and compulsory
education is provided as a fundamental right to children
between the ages of 6 and 14.
At the primary and secondary level, India has a large
private school system complementing the government run
schools, with 29% of students receiving private education
in the 6 to 14 age group.
As per the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)
2012, 96.5% of all rural children between the ages of 6-14
were enrolled in school.

 Another report from 2013 stated that there were 229

million students enrolled in different accredited urban

and rural schools of India, from Class I to XII,
representing an increase of 2.3 million students over
2002 total enrollment, and a 19% increase in girl's
enrollment.
In India's education system, a significant number of
seats are reserved under affirmative action policies for
the historically disadvantaged Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
Maharashtra had 73% reservation in 2014, which is the
highest percentage of reservations in India.

 The central and most state boards uniformly follow the

"10+2+3" pattern of education

The first 10 years is further subdivided into 5 years of
primary education, 3 years of upper primary, followed by
2 years of high school.
This pattern originated from the recommendation of the
Education Commission of 196466
The National Council of Educational Research and
Training (NCERT) is the apex body for curriculum related
matters for school education in India. The NCERT
provides support and technical assistance to a number of
schools in India and oversees many aspects of
enforcement of education policies.

 The state government boards

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

CBSE conducts two examinations, namely, the All India Secondary School
Examination, AISSE (Class/Grade 10) and the All India Senior School
Certificate Examination, AISSCE (Class/Grade 12).
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE).
CISCE conducts three examinations, namely, the Indian Certificate of
Secondary Education (ICSE - Class/ Grade 10); The Indian School
Certificate (ISC - Class/ Grade 12) and the Certificate in Vocational
Education (CVE - Class/Grade 12).
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) conducts two
examinations, namely, Secondary Examination and Senior Secondary
Examination (All India) and also some courses in Vocational Education.
International schools affiliated to the International Baccalaureate
Programme and/or the Cambridge International Examinations.
Islamic Madrasah schools, whose boards are controlled by local state
governments, or autonomous, or affiliated with Darul Uloom Deoband.
Autonomous schools like Woodstock School, The Sri Aurobindo
International Centre of Education Pondicherry, Auroville, Patha Bhavan
and Ananda Marga Gurukula.

 Primary education- The Indian government lays

emphasis on primary education up to the age of

fourteen years, referred to as elementary education in
India.The Indian government has also banned child
labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter
unsafe working conditions
Secondary education- Secondary education covers
children aged 14 to 18, 88.5 million children according
to the Census, 2001.
Private schools-According to current estimates, 29%
of Indian children are privately educated.With more
than 50% children enrolling in private schools in
urban areas, even in rural areas, nearly 20% of the
children in 2004-5 were enrolled in private schools.

 Homeschooling- Homeschooling is legal in India,

though it is the less explored option. The Indian

Government's stance on the issue is that parents are free
to teach their children at home, if they wish to and have
the means.
Higher education- After passing the Higher Secondary
Examination (the grade 12 examination), students may
enroll in general degree programmes such as bachelor's
degree in arts, commerce or science, or professional
degree programmes such as engineering, law or medicine.
India's higher education system is the third largest in the
world, after China and the United States. The main
governing body at the tertiary level is the University
Grants Commission (India), which enforces its standards,
advises the government, and helps coordinate between
the centre and the state

 As of 2012, India has 152 central universities, 316 state

universities, and 191 private universities. Other

institutions include 33,623 colleges, including 1,800
exclusive women's colleges, functioning under these
universities and institutions, and 12748 Institutions
offering Diploma Courses.
Technical education- From the first Five-year Plan
onwards, India's emphasis was to develop a pool of
scientifically inclined manpower.India's National Policy
on Education (NPE) provisioned for an apex body for
regulation and development of higher technical
education, which came into being as the All India Council
for Technical Education (AICTE) in 1987 through an act of
the Indian parliament.

 Open and distance learning-At school level, National

Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) provides opportunities

for continuing education to those who missed completing
school education. 1.4 million students are enrolled at the
secondary and higher secondary level through open and
distance learning. At higher education level, Indira Gandhi
National Open University (IGNOU) co-ordinates distance
learning.
Higher education
Vocational training
Rural education
Women's education- Women have a much lower literacy
rate than men. Far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and
many of them drop out. Concerted efforts led to
improvement from 15.3% in 1961 to 28.5% in 1981. By 2001
literacy for women had exceeded 50% of the overall female
population

 According to the Census of 2011, "every person above

the age of 7 years who can read and write with

understanding in any language is said to be literate".
According to this criterion, the 2011 survey holds the
National Literacy Rate to be around 74.07%
The youth literacy rate, measured within the age group
of 15 to 24, is 81.1% (84.4% among males and 74.4%
among females)