Yuva – Reaping the demographic dividend
The youngest country in the world has high aspirations and to address the same, this budget has taken some major steps. The strong workforce of about 574 million people has been India’s advantage in rising as a major power. But lot more needs to be done to channelise their efforts to economically productive activities, as most of them are in informal jobs. The budget highlighted that more than 1.4 crore youth were trained and 54 lakh were upskilled and re-skilled under Skill India mission, 3000 new ITIs were established and a large number of higher education institutions – 7 IITs, 16 IIITs, 7 IIMs, 15 AIIMS and 390 universities – have been set up.
Focus on research and innovation
There is a need for a greater emphasis on skill development, specifically aligned with the current demands of industries. This approach ensures that trained youth can swiftly integrate into the workforce. Conducting a thorough analysis of this situation will aid in addressing both unemployment concerns and enhancing the overall quality of our workforce.
Rapid digitalisation and access to technology have made our youth tech saavy. To foster the spirit of innovation and research, this budget is to allocate a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore which will provide long-term financing or refinancing with low or nil interest rates. While this would encourage private players to scale up their research efforts, it will also offer a new avenue for the youth to test and try their ideas. Another new scheme is also to be launched for strengthening deep-tech technologies for defence purposes.
Adding to all this, the budget has once again increased capital outlay for the next year by 11.1 per cent to Rs 1,111,111 crore accounting for 3.4 per cent of the GDP. The multiplier effect of this is expected to attract more investments and in turn create more jobs. Since last year, the government has massively increased its capital outlay and this has been used to create infrastructure and aid ease of doing business. Yet another reason has been to encourage private players to increase their investments in the country. But this has not evidently picked up and there seems to be some reluctance amongst them. Unless the government’s contribution is substantiated by a massive private effort, the dreams of a developed India will be delayed.
Tiding the silver tsunami
The government has also taken caution of the rising population growth and announced for forming a high-powered committee for an extensive consideration of the challenges arising from this. The committee’s recommendation is to be in line with the goal of Viksit Bharat. While the demographic dividend must be reaped beneficially, it is also essential to engage the ageing population. The outcomes of the committee would play a crucial role in devising policies for our future growth.
