At a time when the absence of jobsis widely accepted as one of the biggest economic challenges for India, it is pertinent for us to see how the manufacturing sector has consistently performed well below its potential when it comes to job creation. In April, data from CMIE revealed that contrary to adding new jobs, India has lost half of its existing jobs in manufacturing over the last five years. Further, job losses were seen in all manufacturing sub-sectors, except in the chemicals industry. With agriculture growing its share in total employment by 4% during the same period, it is clear our country has seen a reverse migration from industrial employment back to agriculture – a type of deindustrialization.