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The IT industry, employment and informality in India: Challenging the conventional narrative

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Tom Barnes
Tom Barnes*
Affiliation:
Australian Catholic University, Australia
*
Tom Barnes, Institute for Religion, Politics and Society, Australian Catholic University, Level 6, 215 Spring St, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia. Email: tom.barnes@acu.edu.au
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Abstract

The IT industry has been portrayed as instrumental to India’s transition to a high-growth economy. But critics argue that it has delivered few benefits to the wider population. In this context, industry advocates have drawn attention to the direct and indirect impact of IT on output and employment. This article critically explores these claims by locating them in the conventional (neoliberal) narrative of India’s recent economic development. It finds that industry claims are exaggerated and that IT industry demand is often linked to the creation of employment in industries dominated by informal employment arrangements. The prevalence of informal employment highlights problems of low pay and poor or hazardous working conditions. The IT industry’s rise to prominence has traversed a deeply ingrained process of labour market informalisation. In exaggerating the employment-generating capacity of the IT industry, its supporters have largely ignored problems relating to the quality of employment.

Keywords

L86O17J82Indiainformal economyinput–output methodologyIT industryneoliberalism
Type
Articles
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , March 2015 , pp. 82 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015

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