New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday made a strong case for skilling youth, saying they are needed to serve not only the Indian economy but also the global marketplace.
"One distinct feature of India's population is that we have a large number of younger people and therefore we have more hands which can work. The second distinct feature (is) that compared to the rest of the world where population in most developed countries is either stabilising or going down, that (is) not happening in India," he said.
Advanced economies at times find it difficult to have people to service their economies but in the economy like India, there is a much larger base of working population, he said at the National Entrepreneurship Awards 2017.
"The distinct feature of India is we have a large younger population; proportionately to the rest of the world, we have many more people who can work. People who cannot only service our own economy but can also do it outside. That's why a large Indian diaspora is gradually increasing," he said.
Observing that there is a need to harness excess population as the best economic resources, the Finance Minister said this can be done over a period of time by skilling young people.
Speaking on the occasion, Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that banks under the Mudra Yojana have given loan of Rs 4 lakh crore, benefiting 9 crore people.
Of this, 3 crore people are new beneficiaries, he added. Talking about 'Stand Up India' campaign, Pradhan said it is progressing well and 40,000 youth have got loans under the programme.
Meanwhile, ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar said skill development can help in realising inclusive growth plans.
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