Generating skilled jobs, improving employment quality: EAC-PM chief on India's short-term goals

Ahmedabad, Jan 9 (PTI) India's short term goals include focusing more on generating skilled jobs and in the process improving employment quality, S Mahendra Dev, chairman of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), said here on Friday.

Speaking at Ahmedabad University's 7th Annual Economics Conference, Dev admitted that the country was lagging in employment quality, which he asserted is one of the important components in achieving inclusive growth.

Answering a PTI query on the country's short term goals to achieve economic growth, Dev said, "In the post COVID years, from 2022-23 to 2025-26, the average growth rate is 7.7 per cent and so we have recovered. India is resilient. We are pushing investments and exports despite all the constraints. The focus is on employment generation and skilled jobs. We are lagging behind in employment quality." Presenting a lecture on 'Indian Economy: Growth, Inclusion and Sustainability', he said 'Viksit Bharat 2047' does not just mean achieving growth but also inclusive growth.

"Quality employment is one of the important components in achieving inclusive growth. We have issues in employment like gig workers, women's participation rates, creating employment for youth, technology including AI. Education, health, nutrition are also part of efforts in reducing inequalities. These are the areas where inclusion can be increased," Dev stressed.

Speaking about long-term goals, he said, "There are two drivers of growth in achieving the Viksit Bharat 2047 goal. Increasing investment rate and domestic savings and promoting exports." He also pointed towards diversifying exports, GST, income tax reforms and labour codes, as well as quality control orders and inclusion of the private sector in nuclear power.

Dev said many countries achieved structural transformation through manufacturing and services, noting that India still requires strong manufacturing growth to generate labour-intensive employment.

He rejected the notion of choosing between manufacturing and services, calling the two sectors complementary rather than competing.

Emphasising manufacturing's strong backward and forward linkages, he said it also drives growth in services, as modern manufacturing increasingly incorporates service components such as AI.

"A robust manufacturing base is essential for sustained expansion of the service sector. What we want to achieve by 2047 is not unique. India has progressed on many fronts. The task is now to move towards a society and economy that is not only prosperous but also inclusive and pro-nature," he asserted. PTI KVM PD BNM