Good news: Unemployment rate falls on Narendra Modi govt's rural infrastructure drive

After the very optimistic GDP numbers released on February 28, there is another good news that unemployment rates have fallen as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has perked up rural infrastructure. The report by the Economic Research Department of State Bank of India points out that contrary to



market perception, India's unemployment rate declined sharply and consistently from 9.5% in Aug'16 to 4.8% in Feb'17. The states that witnessed major decline in unemployment include Uttar Pradesh (17.1% to 2.9%), Madhya Pradesh (10.0% to 2.7%), Jharkhand (9.5% to 3.1%), Odisha (10.2% to 2.9%) and Bihar (13.0% to 3.7%).