Several MPs, including a BJP member, on Friday asked the government why the country was witnessing job losses and a rise in unemployment despite its improved ranking in the ease of doing business and its job-generating schemes.

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal sidestepped the queries, posed during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, saying there was 'no empirical evidence' of large-scale layoffs. He added that the government was 'focusing very heavily on skill development'.

Devender Pal Vats, BJP member from Haryana, had asked a 'starred' question on the steps the government had taken to create jobs in the manufacturing sector. A starred question gives members the opportunity to subsequently ask supplementary questions in the House and receive oral answers.

In his written reply, Goyal had listed schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana.

Skill development minister Mahendra Nath Pandey had told the House last week that the Mudra Yojana, involving loans to support existing and new income-generating activities, had generated 1.1 crore jobs, contradicting a pre-poll estimate quoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi had told an interviewer the scheme would have generated at least four crore jobs since it had logged four crore first-time borrowers, each of whom would have generated some employment.

Asking a supplementary question, Vats highlighted that unemployment was rising at around 8.5 per cent and sought a timetable by when these schemes would solve the problem.

'Employment does get affected temporarily because of modernisation and technology upgrad(e)…. The government has been focusing very heavily on skill development,' Goyal said.

'We are confident that as we engage more and more with modern technologies, India will probably become a leader in the world in terms of using these technologies.'

In his second supplementary question, Vats asked: 'Many workers are being laid off due to the slowing down. What welfare measures is the government taking for the workers who are losing jobs?'

Goyal replied: 'Well, I think there is no empirical evidence --- or very detailed evidence --- of the workers losing jobs in a very big measure. There are occasions where due to unviability or various other reasons, a particular organisation may not be able to continue operations. But in the labour laws of the country, very well defined procedures and very well defined compensation has been provided.'

The Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation for 2017-18 found a 6.1 per cent unemployment rate, the highest since 1972-73. After sitting on the report for almost six months, the government released it after the general election.

Trinamul member Subhashish Chakraborty said nine million jobs had been lost in India in the past few years and asked why the manufacturing sector was unable to compete globally.

Goyal said India had lost the competitive advantage in manufacturing because of a variety of reasons, including the growing cost of labour and the increasing imports. The government is addressing the manufacturing sector's concerns, Goyal said.

Nominated member Narendra Jadhav asked why India was unable to attract the manufacturing firms that were moving out of China because of Beijing's trade war with Washington.

'In spite of improvement in ease of doing business, why has India not been able to take full advantage of this opportunity to attract manufacturing facilities which could have given a big boost to employment generation in our country?' Jadhav asked.

India jumped 23 places to 77th among 190 countries in the World Bank's ease-of-doing-business ranking for 2018.

'The Government of India is looking to seize this opportunity to allow our entrepreneurs to expand their operations and get more and more manufacturing attracted to India,' Goyal said.

'For the first time, India has reduced corporate tax drastically and today, a new manufacturing unit set up will have to pay only 15 per cent corporate tax plus surcharges.'