Congress cites 27% hiring slump to target Modi government over jobs crisis
Jairam Ramesh says fall in recruitment by top listed firms reflects deepening employment crisis, alleges Centre is ignoring the issue
The Congress on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central Government of pushing the country's economy into a deep employment crisis, with senior party leader Jairam Ramesh alleging that its economic policies had dealt the biggest blow to India's youth and robbed them of job opportunities.
The Congress Rajya Sabha MP said the government had consistently refused to acknowledge the growing unemployment problem and was instead focused on "headline management" and the politics of distraction.
His remarks came after a media report claimed that fresh hiring across nine of India's top 11 listed companies declined by 27 per cent in 2025-26 compared to the previous financial year, signalling a sharp slowdown in job creation even among the country's largest employers.
"What we have been saying repeatedly is proving to be true. The Modi government has inflicted deep damage on the country's economy, and its most severe fallout has been on the youth," Ramesh said.
Referring to the report, he said the 27 per cent fall in hiring by the country's leading companies was evidence that India was facing a serious employment crisis. He alleged that instead of finding solutions, the government was denying the very existence of the problem.
Calling the report "just the tip of the iceberg", Ramesh said the situation in the MSME sector would be far worse if large corporates themselves were cutting recruitment.
He alleged that the sector had borne the brunt of the Modi government's "Hum Do, Hamare Do" economic policies and claimed that flawed economic and employment decisions had pushed the country's job market into a deep crisis.
Ramesh said the country's youth were discerning and would not be swayed by optics. "To please them, it won't be enough to churn out reels -- they need jobs to be created," he added.
