Chandan Kumar Sharma

Institute

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU, India)

Research Cluster

1 - Partnerships in Development Cooperation - Access to Development Cooperation for Marginalized Groups

Supervisor

Prof. Praveen Jha, Ph.D. (JNU)

PhD Project Title

Trends and Patterns of Employment, Wages, and Productivity in India’s Manufacturing Sector: An Analysis of Major States Since the Early 1990s

Abstract

My dissertation examines labor issues in the Indian manufacturing sector. The study seeks to answer the following questions: How have GDP and the employment structure in the Indian economy changed, and how has the structure of the organized and unorganized manufacturing sector changed in terms of gross value added, number of factories, and employment since the early 1990s? How has the employment structure in the organized and unorganized manufacturing sectors changed across individual states since the early 1990s? How has the wage structure in the organized and unorganized manufacturing sectors changed across individual states since the early 1990s? How have the gender wage gap and the wage gap associated with regular employment changed in organized and unorganized manufacturing since the early 1990s? How has the gap between labor productivity and real wages in organized and unorganized manufacturing changed since the early 1990s? In answering these questions, the focus is on spatial differences, as there are enormous variations across India’s states. Some states are very underdeveloped, while others have achieved a significant level of industrialization.
Since industry offers extensive employment opportunities to people who are hidden unemployed in agriculture and acts as an engine of growth in the early phase of economic development, the political focus in India —a developing country with a surplus of low-skilled labor—has consistently been on industrialization since independence through five-year plans and industrial policy measures. The current political focus is reflected in the New Manufacturing Policy 2011 and the “Make in India” initiative 2014, whose goal was to increase the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP from around 15% to 25% and to create an additional 100 million jobs in this sector. This is a very ambitious task. Against this backdrop, this study examines trends and patterns in employment, wages, and productivity across the individual states to identify which states should be prioritized in order to achieve these goals.

Educational Background

  • 2017: Master of Philosophy in Economics, Center for Economic Research and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, with a focus on the relationship between wages and productivity in India’s organized manufacturing sector.
  • 2015: Master of Arts (with a specialization in the global economy), Center for International Trade and Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
  • 2013: Bachelor of Arts (with honors in Economics), Shivaji College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.

Work experience

  • January 2021 – present: Lecturer in Economics (on a contract basis) at Ramanujan College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.
  • June 2018 – July 2018: Research assistant at Ambedkar University, New Delhi, India.

Publications

Scholarships / Awards

  • July 2017 – July 2020: Senior Research Fellowship, awarded by the University Grant Commission, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
  • July 2015 – July 2017: Junior Research Fellowship, awarded by the University Grant Commission, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
  • July 2013 – July 2015: Need-based and Merit Scholarship, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.