Our dangerous pre-existing conditions in jobs and skills exposed by the covid crisis call for several flick-of-the-pen reforms India’s formal jobs challenge has been a pre- existing condition since 1947 because of overdue but unavoidable reforms in labour, education, cities, finance, compliance and civil services.
But the coronavirus opens what John Kingdon calls a policy window—the convergence of problem streams, reforms, and timing. Our problems are clear: not enough high-productivity enterprises and poorly skilled labour.
The economic pain from the lockdown makes what was always important, urgent. Some overdue reforms are in progress, but a treatment 90% complete is still incomplete.