Creating more jobs was the theme of a roundtable discussion on the forthcoming budget. The Pre-Budget Roundtable was organised by BW Businessworld in association with NewsX.
The panelists were: Jayant Krishna, Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, National Skill Development Corporation - National Skill Development Corporation( NSDC); Nilanjan Roy, Head of Times Business Solution, Timesjobs; Nishith Upadhyaya, Head - Advisory and Knowledge for SHRM India; and Suman K Jha, Deputy Editor, BW Businessworld.
The session was moderated by Athar Khan, a News X anchor. Khan opened the discussion by asking whether generating more jobs will the government's prime focus in the new budget.
Jayant Krishna said, "I would want the government to focus its attention on MSMEs as that forms almost 80% of the macroeconomy. I would also want them to think about the manufacturing sector as it is something that has not picked up as speedily as it should have. It appears the infrastructural revolution has skipped India."
Nilanjan Roy said: "I would like to draw some attention on the fact that education is so out of synch with industry's needs. If AI (artificial intelligence) is the future, how are we preparing to bring it on? There are no colleges or degrees for Indian students to grab this opportunity. So, if that does not happen, either businesses will go abroad or we would be importing foreign products."
When asked about the pre-budget expectations, Nishith Upadhyaya of SHRM India said, "We are expecting more job creation in future and also expecting the participation of more and more people especially from rural areas. This will definitely help in the growth of this sector with the support of government and their initiatives."
Suman K Jha, Deputy Editor, BW Businessworld expressed his concerns on the delay in the automation revolution in India, states competing against each other and the government leaving behind the thrust areas like agriculture.
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