Introduction
A local resource-based approach applies a cost-effective use of local skills, enterprises, labor, and materials in the infrastructure delivery process. The process optimizes the social and economic impact of investments in manufacturing by ensuring that these investments are channeled through the local economy, thereby creating job opportunities and stimulating local markets, entrepreneurship, and industry while safeguarding cost effectiveness, quality, and sustainable asset delivery.
Reason for Opting for local resource-based technologies
- Government development objectives aim to generate employment and income opportunities for the local population and domestic industry.
- The infrastructure concerned requires relatively modest investments, e.g., rural roads, secondary and tertiary irrigation channels, and small and medium-scale structures.
- Local resources including labor, skills, enterprises, and materials are available.
- The scarcity of foreign exchange makes the use of imported inputs an economically unattractive option.
- A significant proportion of the population is un or under-employed
- Wage levels are low.
How it can help in promoting employment in India?
- The local resource-based approach is to deliver public (and private) investments in infrastructure as a means of expanding employment opportunities for the unemployed, raising productivity, providing social and economic infrastructure assets and facilities, permitting trade, and generally improving well-being.
- Given the relative scarcity of capital and skilled labor, and the relative abundance of unskilled labor, countries with low incomes can rapidly achieve pro-poor growth by applying employment-friendly technologies in as many sectors as possible. This would rapidly increase the demand for unskilled and low-skilled labor.
- Several investment programs have a huge employment creation potential if delivered via employment-friendly technology and local enterprises. Investment in public infrastructure accounts for as much as 40 to 60% of national public investment in most developing countries. Public investment programs, therefore, represent one of the few remaining government policy instruments through which productive employment opportunities can be stimulated and more balanced economic and social development promoted.
Benefits of a local resource-based approach
- It enables higher delivery and maintenance rates of basic assets and services essential for socio-economic development, such as vital access roads, water supplies, markets, and health facilities with the same level of investment and at comparable or better quality standards.
- Creates jobs, particularly for the unskilled, poorer men and women within the community. This results in the injection of income into the local communities, with the immediate effect of increasing their purchasing power. This, in turn, results in improving living standards, such as improved diets, and the ability to access socioeconomic amenities, such as schools, clinics, etc.
- Stimulates local entrepreneurship, community participation, and local economic development with important income distribution effects.
- Enables the involvement of the local private sector and industry, that is, contractors, suppliers, and manufactures of local materials, tools, and equipment. Hence, nurtures and develops the local construction and manufacturing industry, retains investment locally, and saves on foreign exchange required for foreign imports.
Conclusion:
Thus, Regional Development leads to the distribution of employment opportunities on an equitable basis and they are not confined only to a handful of states which otherwise might create gaps in the per capita income among different regions.
Summary
The local resource-based approach is a cost-effective way of delivering infrastructure projects that utilizes local resources including labor, skills, enterprises, and materials. This approach optimizes the social and economic impact of investments by creating job opportunities and stimulating local markets, entrepreneurship, and industry while safeguarding cost-effectiveness, quality, and sustainable asset delivery. This approach can promote employment in countries with low incomes by rapidly increasing the demand for unskilled and low-skilled labor. Investment in public infrastructure programs using employment-friendly technology and local enterprises can create productive employment opportunities and promote more balanced economic and social development. The benefits of a local resource-based approach include higher delivery and maintenance rates of essential assets and services, job creation, local entrepreneurship, community participation, local economic development, and saving on foreign exchange required for foreign imports. Regional development using this approach can lead to a more equitable distribution of employment opportunities and income among different regions.