NEW DELHI, Aug. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- India's Labor Minister Sis Ram Ola said Saturday the country has 27 million unemployed.

    "We need an industrial and production policy, which can provideemployment to more people and at the same time take economy forward," the Press Trust of India quoted Ola as saying in Kolkatain east India.

    Ola made the remarks at a National Conference on Strategies to Leverage Employment Generation organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

    Though the government was examining possible labor reforms, it would like to implement the United Progressive Alliance's policy of globalization with human face, he said.

    Job creation is one of the important tasks to maintain economicand social balance in the society, but the country's unemployment during the past years was rising as the rate of population growth was much faster than job creation, he said.

    "Though labor is a relevant subject, we (the center) will not force the state governments if they wanted to implement liberal policies for investment and job creation," Ola said.

    The minister asked the International Labor Organization to evolve industrial development programs to encourage self employment.

    Indian economy is facing challenges with regard to unemploymentand economic growth.

    During the past five decades, the population of India has grownat an alarming rate of around 2.2 percent per annum, whereas employment opportunities have not increased correspondingly. Enditem