The latest Labour Ministry data shows that unemployment in 2017-18 was 6.1%, arguably a 45-year high. Figures based on the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) have been the subject of intense scrutiny and debate ever since a leaked report in February revealed a surge in joblessness as well as a drop in the labour-force participation rate.
While officials have pointed to a change in the design of the dataset to explain that it is not comparable with past surveys, some economists have raised doubts about the reliability of the data itself. Economists Jayati Ghosh and Ajit Ranade weighed in...
