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Mr N.K. Singh, Member, Planning Commission and Chairman, High-Level Strategic Group, submitting a report to the Prime Minister, Mr A. B. Vajpayee, at his residence on Thursday.

NEW DELHI, April 17

THE country's huge population could actually be its most important asset in making India the global service capital for knowledge-based services in the years to come.

A report presented by All-India Management Association (AIMA) to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, here on Thursday suggested a blueprint for action so that the country can create 40 million jobs annually by 2020 and boost the country's GDP by up to $200 billion. The consulting partner for the project was The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) while the implementing partner was Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Addressing a press conference, the Member, Planning Commission, Mr N.K. Singh, said that India is uniquely placed as by 2020 it would have 47 million people in the potential surplus population in the working age group, which would be higher than any other country. "The report has suggested how we can convert the population differential into an opportunity for the country," Mr Singh said.

The report shows that India's opportunity lies in changing demographics of the world coupled with the growth of service economies in developed countries. Ageing populations and reducing birth rates in almost all developed countries will create a shortfall of workforce, while the needs of the populations for services increases along with economic growth. Actions taken by the developed countries such as increase in the retirement age, higher participation of women in the workforce, more automation and increased immigration will not be enough to bridge the shortfall. Thus, the developed world will be forced to look to developing countries such as India to meet this shortfall.

To fully utilise the opportunities, the report has identified three areas which needed to be tackled including strengthening professional education and vocational training, improving connectivity and marketing India as the world's best source for services.

The members of the high-level strategic group involved in the making of the report include Mr C.K. Birla, Chairman, Hindustan Motors Ltd, Mr Phiroz Vandrevala, Executive Vice-President, Tata Consultancy Services, Mr R. Gopalkrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons Ltd, Dr J.J. Irani, Director, Tata Sons Ltd, and Dr Pratap Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals.

The report states that to strengthen professional educational and vocational training there was a need to grant more autonomy to educational institutes. Besides, it outlined the need to invest in vocational training institutes so as to enable them to upgrade their skills for remote services and also suggested encouraging private sector participation in vocational and professional education.

Further, the report talked about the need to evolve innovative funding mechanisms so that "quality education" was widely available. It pointed to the need to establish standards and bodies to certify skills to ensure acceptability of Indian services by World Trade Organisation (WTO) members.

While stressing on the need to improve connectivity, the report highlighted the necessity of formulating a comprehensive civil aviation policy covering all aspects relating to a regulatory framework, airport infrastructure, domestic and international air transport, among others.

Further, it called for expediting the process of restructuring of airports through corporate sector participation and accelerating the ongoing process for building and improving the telecom infrastructure.

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