How Direct Selling industry can solve India's unemployment problem

The roar made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the country's poor employment conditions created a ripple across the nation. Keeping in mind the current scenario of Indian economy and the state of employment across the country, "Skill India" campaign of Prime Minister has hit the right strings.

The Industries too have realised the importance of having skilled workforce and hence there have been conscious efforts on their part to value add to the skills of their resources. "Make in India" is another initiative which has given impetus to all Indian origin manufacturers to invest more across various domains and has generated many employment opportunities for the people.

"Unemployment still remains one of the biggest concerns for the Government, which under the leadership of PM Modi is striving hard to generate more employment. It is not an issue that can be tackled in a jiffy. Rather, it will need a combined effort of government and industries to improve the unemployment ratio, that too over a period of time," believes Secretary General, Indian Direct Selling Association, Amit Chadha.

Direct Selling

Talking about Direct Selling, he adds "Direct Selling is one industry that has been generating self-employment opportunities for about 20 years in the country. As there is no such restrictions and criteria to become a Direct Sellers, people from all walks of the society join Direct Selling, irrespective of gender, skill-set and age. A person aged 60 is as welcomed in Direct Selling as an 18 year old. Direct Selling embraces everyone with open arms."

"Over the last two decades, this industry has made it way to every corner and strata of the country and it is getting popular with every passing day. In 2014-15, the Industry generated close to 40 lakh self-employment opportunities in the country and we expect the number to grow in the coming days," he further stated.

At a time when businesses are not expanding as a fast pace, the employment generation in the country has also taken a hit. In such a scenario direct selling has been one of the few industries, that has continued to make steady progress and pushing boundaries towards overall growth.

Chadha is of the view that the Direct Selling Industry has been instrumental in shaping up careers of millions of Indians, especially the unskilled ones, who could not find a place in the mainstream. This industry transforms a common man into a leader, who later on mentors thousands of people like him, helping them to be a part of the mainstream.

"What is significant is the fact that many of the successful Direct Sellers are now helping other people to set up their businesses. Clearly, it is a people's business, where one helps the other; resulting in building the nation," Chadha further added.

The main attraction of working in this industry is the option of flexible hours people work at their own leisure and time, without being bound to strict timelines. Many working people join Direct Selling as a supplementary earning opportunity. Direct Selling is a booming industry, a boon for an economy and employment generation towards better future. It boosts confidence of individuals and therefore leading the industry as well as the workforce involved, to a higher growth trajectory. It is an attractive option, allowing people to manage their own business with minimal outlay as well as generate an income.

"The need of the hour is to give boost to an Industry like Direct Selling that has a socio-economic impact to the lives of many. Not only it generates employment, as a result, the Industry also empowers its workforce with skill, knowledge, power to express, improving interpersonal skills and above all, lead a life of a 'leader, inspiring other to replicate their success,'" Chadha further asserted.