Working the demographic edge: What will it take to empower India’s workforce?

A. First, the government must continue strengthening the private sector. This can be done by identifying underlying bottlenecks, introducing tailored measures and providing targeted incentives, thereby attracting more private investments and creating opportunities. For instance, the announcement of employment-linked incentive schemes in the budget is a positive development that can enhance job creation.

B. Second, as they say, education is the bedrock of all progress and innovation. Our education system is in urgent need of a revamp. According to global education rankings, India ranks 139, which is much lower compared to other developing Southeast Asian countries.³ Although this year’s budget allocation to the education sector is the highest since 2019, it remains around 2.5–3 per cent of the GDP.⁴ If India wants to be a developed country, this figure needs to be increased to 6 per cent of the GDP.⁵

C. Third, more skilling initiatives need to be introduced to help prepare the workforce for more high-value jobs. Currently, India’s real manufacturing value added per employee is around USD8 thousand—lower than that of most ASEAN countries.⁶ Increasing industry-academia collaborations can address specific industry needs. The new internship scheme announced in this budget, aiming to provide opportunities to 10 million youth in top 500 companies⁷, is a welcome step and should be implemented seamlessly for effective results.

D. Fourth, addressing labour market disparities to increase women participation can help India achieve a more inclusive growth. Initiatives announced in the budget, such as women-specific skilling programmes and enhanced market access to women-led enterprises, are essential steps towards equitable growth.