New Forms of Recruitment Processes and Discrimination in Urban Labour Market in India

The penetration of information and communications technology (ICT) and financial services have led to significant changes in the nature of employment opportunities as well as hiring practices by employers in the Indian labour market. Both employers and jobseekers are increasingly using information technology (IT) in their searches in the labour market. However, social networks continue to play major role in job information and hiring decisions. In such changing milieu, access to information to jobseekers has become rather limited, thereby reducing job opportunities for those people or groups of people who do not have access to such sources of information and networks. The prevailing prejudices about the abilities of certain group of job applicants such as Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs) and Muslims, and overemphasis on meritocracy by employers also limit their chances of being selected, particularly in private industry