New Delhi, (IANS) : Increase in exports may be the way to generate large scale employment, which has remained sluggish despite India’s rapid economic growth, a study by EXIM Bank said on Tuesday.

“Increase in exports paves the way to generate large-scale employment taking into consideration the labour-intensive advantage which India possesses,” said the study on export employment by the bank.

“Overall it has been observed that despite India’s rapid economic growth, the employment scenario continues to be sluggish,” it added.

Export growth has the potential to generate large scale employment as India has a comparative advantage in labour-intensive products, it said.

The study also identifies a number of specific sectors where exports can contribute to significant employment growth, directly as well as through backward linkages.

“While the total number of jobs supported by exports increased significantly, jobs supported per million dollar worth of exports declined over the years,” it stated.

According to the study, $1 million worth of exports supported 638 jobs in 1999-2000, which declined to 138 in 2012-13.

“Policies specifically targeting export growth from the manufacturing sector can reap rich dividends in terms of creating large scale employment opportunities for various skill categories,” it added.

The study observed that the total number of jobs supported by aggregate Indian exports (merchandise plus services) increased from about 34 million in 1999-2000 to 62.6 million in 2012-13, with a growth rate of 3.4 per cent per annum.