Discuss the role of government in meeting the needs and aspirations of the people
Answers
The outlook for India is good. Despite the challenging global economic environment, India’s is expected to grow by 7.5% in 2015. It is now the 4th largest economy in the world and with this among the most important players in the world.
With growth, India has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty. Since independence, life expectancy has more than doubled, literacy rates have increased fourfold and a large and growing middle class has emerged. Since 2005, more than 138 million people were lifted out of poverty. It is not surprising then that India has exceeded the first Millennium Development Goal to halve poverty.
But India has the potential to do more. Much more. It can be a true leader in this century, driving global growth and helping itself and the world eliminate poverty and increase shared prosperity. There are challenges, but most of these can be turned into opportunities.
First, India has one of the youngest populations in the world. One million youth will enter the labor market every month for the next two decades, soon to include many of you. By 2030, India will have the largest labor force in the world. This presents a huge potential, especially when many countries, including China will face challenges due to its aging population and declining labor force.
Like all of you, jobseekers want good jobs with the potential to realize their aspirations. With the right skills and opportunities, you can become part of India’s productive demographic dividend.
The second challenge is that too many Indians remain excluded from the benefits of economic growth purely based on the way they were born. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have fewer opportunities, despite focused government attention to promote inclusion. Poverty remains stubbornly high among Scheduled Tribes at more than 40% compared to 22% for the rest of the country.
There are more than 600 million Indian women. More than the total population of the United States and my country, Indonesia, combined. 50 million young women between the ages of 15-24 are not employed, not in education and not in training. They are not participating in the economy to the degree they could and should.
India must maximize human development and leverage the aspirations of youth, women and vulnerable populations. In short, India needs to realize the power of aspirations by creating opportunities that are available to all.
I’d like to focus on three ways this can be do