GST and the Emerging job opportunities in India.

keywords:   GST,  employment opportunities, careers in accounting,  digital economy

       

The passage of the Goods and Services Tax by the Parliament signals the present government’s attempts to travel off the beaten track. On this occasion Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that GST is a true example of cooperative federalism and that it would promote the Make in India programme, help exports and thus generate employment. Goods and Services Tax – referred to as the GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services right from the manufacturer to the consumer. Earlier, the products manufactured had to pass through numerous barricades created by the tax regime before it reached the consumer. In the end, it was the consumer who bore the brunt of all these excessive tax rates. The GST offers a one-stop solution to all these problems.

GST - A path to choose the alternative

The era of the GST signals a rise in employment opportunities for the Indian youth. This will mostly be felt in the formal job sector where careers in cost accounting and data analysis become an alternative career option for those who wish to move away from the conventional ones. Sectors like automobile, logistics and e-commerce shall generate a wide range of employment opportunities catering to a tech-savvy population. Chartered Accountancy is another emerging career option. Since the GST has charted out different tax rates for different products and services, it requires skilled professionals capable of efficient auditing and accounting of data.

Greater demand for programming and app-based services 

 The IT sector is also predicted to witness a surge mainly in jobs related to computer programming.  Numerous app-based services for GST are being developed by companies to help people understand the functioning of a ‘one nation, one tax ‘regime. The Digital India programme that preceded GST signifies a trend where jobs in the digital economy shall be the order of the day. A degree in computer application is now considered more fruitful than slogging away four years in engineering.

The era of the GST has its pros and cons. But when it comes to employment, it has opened up a myriad of opportunities for the Indian youth.