?India should grab opportunities that come in its way first rather than deal with challenges first and then think about opportunities,? said Chanda Kochhar, joint managing director, ICICI Bank Ltd, at the annual regional meet of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Mumbai on Friday. The theme this year was ?Challenges Faced by a Growing Economy?, which is the primary question in every industrialist?s mind at a time of global economic turmoil.
One of the main challenges that India faces today is the lack of skilled labourers. According to S Mahalingam, CFO, Tata Consultancy Services, out of all 6 lakh applicants the company receives every year, only 2.5 lakh are absorbed owing to the lack of skill among applicants. There is enormous potential in Indian youth, but without the required skills, India is facing a huge problem.
Naushad Forbes, director Forbes Marshall suggested a few solutions to this problem. According to him, corporates should engage with existing institutes rather than try to form their own and provide them with the right and relevant R&D facilities. Another important requirement is improvement of the quality of graduate and under graduate education provided at colleges.
Another issue that was raised in the CII meet was how the agricultural sector could be improved. 60% of Indians work in the agricultural sector and there is a desperate need to improve and develop this vital section of our economy. Formation of new reforms will be of no use if they aren?t implemented. Also, corporates need to take a keen interest in the agriculture sector.
On the whole, members of the CII were optimistic about India?s future. India may not be able to achieve the targeted 10% GDP growth in the coming year but the very fact that there was such a possibility is itself a huge improvement and very good news to the Indian economy, said Forbes. This growth will help insulate India from a possible recession in the US, said the panelists.
