Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the biggest challenge facing India’s economy was employability. “While many students graduate with degrees, employers continue to find a gap between mere academic qualifications and job skills,” Sitharaman said in a fireside chat in New York.
Sitharaman emphasized that the government is working on bridging this gap: “For being employed, they need something more,” she said, alluding to the experience and skills employers expect of the workforce. The government is equipping the youth with acquired skills in emerging fields, especially in technologies like AI.
The Finance Minister spoke about digitalization in India’s economy. She drew on the fact that digitization formalized the economy, putting financial services at the doorstep of many. “The digital transformation of India enabled the participation of citizens in economic growth,” she said. One such essential transformation is UPI, a unique initiative under which the pattern of payment in India has been rebuilt. Even small traders-like vegetable and fruit sellers-use the QR code for transactions. This shift has made the process more transparent and also significantly reduced the cash economy.
Sitharaman spoke on India’s progress toward its target of net-zero emission by 2070. She said India is moving away from thermal power plants. And focusing on renewable energy sources, mainly solar. India has already overshot its targets in the case of solar energy, though the rest of the world, including developed countries, did not keep their promise of providing USD 100 billion for green energy transitions. It’s investing in solar projects, wind energy, hybrid energy projects, green hydrogen production, electric mobility, and advanced battery storage systems.
However, Sitharaman admits ‘high transition cost remains an issue’, more so with natural gas becoming dearer. Despite that, she says India depends on public funding and local solutions rather than foreign technology or financial assistance.
The Finance Minister discussed global challenges, expressing apprehension over the geopolitical tension that it raises the cost of insurance, ‘shifting contours’ of shipping routes, and disturbances in supply chains. She explained that these affect food, fertilizers, and fuel supplies.
ANI
