The need for creating jobs and work opportunities for Indian youth is imperative in view of the country's demographic profile.
The task is highly challenging, especially when technology is increasingly being used to replace manual work. There is a need to urgently plan for the future - for making available varied work opportunities as well as for creating relevant skilled workforce.
It is imperative to ideate with stakeholders ranging from policymakers, industry leaders, economists, technologists, academicians, as well as the youth to understand the issues, challenges and arrive at solutions and ideas that can be implemented right away for the near term as well as long term gains.
The book, 'Economy of Jobs', released here today at the 89th Annual General Meeting of FICCI by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is an effort to encourage this discussion and debate.
India's leading business leaders and eminent thought leaders share their views and suggestions on the critical theme of 'Economy of Jobs'.
The articles cover issues related to demographics, education, skill development, entrepreneurship, impact of technology, labour laws, employment statistics as well as specific issues across sectors like agriculture, food processing, textiles, automotive, pharmaceuticals, travel and hospitality, financial services, information technology, telecom as well as new age sectors like the green economy. The various ideas emanating from this book will help in formulating a long term plan and strategies to achieve the objective of 'work for all' and enable meeting the aspirations of 1.25 billion people.
India is expected to become the most populous nation by 2025, with a population nearing 1.4 billion. This increase in population will also come with a demographic advantage as maximum share of the increase will be in the working age group of 15-60 years.
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To ensure that the dividend does not convert into a disaster, India needs to create employment opportunities for nearly 12-13 million youth that enter the workforce each year. The challenge is not just about creating jobs or work opportunities for the incoming workforce, but also to offset the potential job losses of the existing workforce that are likely to occur due to the changes in technology and other global developments.
The book on jobs is an initiative of the FICCI President, Mr. Harshavardhan Neotia and it was put together by the editorial team at FICCI. The 'Captains of Industry' and prominent thought leaders have shared their thoughts and suggestions through this book and have spoken about their own experiences and offered insights into this serious but fascinating challenge before us. FICCI prides itself as being 'Industry's Voice for Policy Change', and the book resonates with many leading voices showing the way forward.
The authors/contributors in the book are: Mr. Pranjal Sharma, Economic Analyst and Writer; Mr. Harshavardhan Neotia, President, FICCI and Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group; Mr. Ritesh Agarwal, Founder, OYO Rooms; Mr. R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India; Mr. Siraj A Chaudhry, Chairman, Cargill India; Mr. Y C Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC Limited; Mr. Anil Jain, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Jain Irrigation Systems; Mr. Habil Khorakiwala, Chairman, Wockhardt; Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, Chair - FICCI's Sustainability Council; Chair - FICCI India Sanitation Council; Mr. Sanjay S Lalbhai, Chairman and Managing Director, Arvind Ltd; Mr. Arun Maira, Chairman, HelpAge International and Former Member, Planning Commission; Mr. Ashok Malik, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation; Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises; Mr. Y K Modi, Executive Chairman, Great Eastern Energy Corporation; Mr. T V Mohandas Pai, Chairman, FICCI Skill Development Committee and Chairman, Manipal Global Education Services; Mr. Pankaj Patel, President-Elect, FICCI and Chairman & Managing Director, Zydus Cadila; Mr. Manish Sabharwal, Chairman and Ms. Sonal Arora, Vice President, Teamlease; Mr. Rakesh Sarna, Managing Director & CEO, Indian Hotels Company; Mr. Rashesh Shah, Vice-President, FICCI and Chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Financial Services; Mr. Krish Shankar, Executive Vice President & Group Head, HR, Infosys; Mr. Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India; Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Immediate Past President, FICCI and Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Hotels and Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI.