The government is committed to developing varied skill sets among the youth in order to not only help them get ample employment opportunities but also create employment opportunities for others, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told students on Saturday.
The minister’s assurance about skill development comes in the context of the shift taking place in the industry on account of automation and technology, which is transforming the nature of work.
In an interaction with students and civil service aspirants at the Andhra Pradesh/Telangana Bhavan in the capital, the minister also discussed the opportunities as well as concerns around artificial intelligence and machine learning, a social media post from the minister stated.
Sitharaman highlighted, for the students, the success of Mudra loans and low-cost collateral-free credit schemes that the government has introduced, and how they are helping people to become job creators. Launched in 2015, Mudra scheme offers business loans of up to ₹10,00,000.
Sitharaman’s emphasis on employment opportunities to the students also comes in the context of opposition parties like Congress and AAP, among others, raising ‘unemployment’ as an issue in the ongoing national polls. Both the ruling BJP and Congress have emphasised the need to boost the manufacturing sector in their manifestoes as a way of creating employment opportunities. While the BJP has said it will continue to work towards making the country a global manufacturing hub and enhance employment in this crucial sector, the Congress says it will make India a manufacturing hub by raising the share of manufacturing from 14% of the country's GDP to 20% in the next five years.
Sitharaman also discussed with students the future prospects of the Indian economy, opportunities in sunrise sectors for the youth and how the digital economy is shaping India's future. The minister also discussed inheritance and wealth tax with the students, which has lately become a topic of debate during campaigning for the ongoing Lok Sabha 2024 election.
The minister further explained to the students that digital payments via universal payment interface or UPI in India were creating records month after month and that the India stack has been lauded by world leaders during India's G20 presidency.
