‘Young India has a Virat Kohli mentality that I'm second to none in this world,’ says ex-RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan
Raghuram Rajan said, adding that it is important for the country to enhance its human capital and skillsets, PTI reported. Speaking at a conference titled "Making India an Advanced Economy by 2047: What Will it Take" at George Washington University in the United States, Rajan expressed concern over India's current growth rate. "I think we are in the midst of it (demographic dividend), but the problem is we are not reaping the benefits," he stated.
Rajan underscored the significance of job creation and the need to address the issue of unemployment. "... That's why I said 6 percent growth.
If you think that's about what we are right now, take away the fluff in the GDP numbers. That 6 percent is in the midst of a demographic dividend," he added. "It is much below where China and Korea were when they reaped their demographic dividend.
And that's why I'm saying we are being overly complicit when we say this is great. This is not because we are losing the demographic dividend because we are not giving those guys jobs," the former RBI governor said. The economist also advocated for apprenticeship initiatives to improve job prospects for the youth, adding that it is important to enhance people's capabilities and transform the nature of available jobs.
“And that leads us to the question, how do we create those jobs? The answer to my mind is partly enhancing the capabilities of the people we have, partly changing the nature of the jobs that are available and we need to work on both fronts. This idea of apprenticeship, which the Congress has in its manifesto is worth working on. I think there's a lot that needs to be done to make it effective, but we need many more students to at least be capable of doing a good job," Rajan said.
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