With a strong demographic dividend, a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem and a large domestic market, the time is right for India’s economy to soar.The world is expecting India to translate its potential into action.
If the economic liberalization of 1991 was a watershed moment for India, 25 years later India again stands on the threshold of another historic moment.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund both project a robust 7.5% growth for the country in 2016 and 2017.
Yet, India also faces challenges, including shrinking exports, an infrastructure deficit, barriers to business and stalled reforms.
If the pace of reform fails to pick up and improvement in the ease of doing business proves too slow, companies may look elsewhere.
As the government ensures that the benefits of the previous industrial revolutions reach all Indians, it should also prepare itself for the Fourth Industrial Revolution – a technological revolution that is changing the scale, scope and complexity of the opportunities and challenges that we face.
India’s leadership in innovating with technology continues to improve the country’s economic prosperity, civic participation and digital governance – engaging with its citizens, updating them on policies, resolving issues and connecting with them through live conversations.
This is an important inflection point for India, where it can ensure that its economic growth is more broad-based and socially inclusive, and also lead from the front on the Fourth Industrial Revolution to benefit its people and communities. With India taking on the G20 presidency in 2018, progress made now will define the country’s G20 leadership.
India- on the brink to take off or on the brink to fall ? –
The actions will decide the outcome- not only of the government but also of the citizenry.After all, government can launch sanitary campaigns and Swachh Bharat Mission – but it hardly can stop people from peeing – here , there and everywhere.It has to come from within , it has to come from the society.Government can only push you to run if the society is ready to run.For that , there need to change on our collective approach and the best possible solution is – change and change invariably begins at home.Thus the more appropriate question is – Not Indian but Indians – on the brink to take off or on the brink to fall ?
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[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]2021 WEF Global Gender Gap report, which confirmed its 2016 finding of a decline in worldwide progress towards gender parity.
Over 2.8 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. As many as 104 countries still have laws preventing women from working in specific jobs, 59 countries have no laws on sexual harassment in the workplace, and it is astonishing that a handful of countries still allow husbands to legally stop their wives from working.
Globally, women’s participation in the labour force is estimated at 63% (as against 94% of men who participate), but India’s is at a dismal 25% or so currently. Most women are in informal and vulnerable employment—domestic help, agriculture, etc—and are always paid less than men.
Recent reports from Assam suggest that women workers in plantations are paid much less than men and never promoted to supervisory roles. The gender wage gap is about 24% globally, and women have lost far more jobs than men during lockdowns.
The problem of gender disparity is compounded by hurdles put up by governments, society and businesses: unequal access to social security schemes, banking services, education, digital services and so on, even as a glass ceiling has kept leadership roles out of women’s reach.
Yes, many governments and businesses had been working on parity before the pandemic struck. But the global gender gap, defined by differences reflected in the social, political, intellectual, cultural and economic attainments or attitudes of men and women, will not narrow in the near future without all major stakeholders working together on a clear agenda—that of economic growth by inclusion.
The WEF report estimates 135 years to close the gap at our current rate of progress based on four pillars: educational attainment, health, economic participation and political empowerment.
India has slipped from rank 112 to 140 in a single year, confirming how hard women were hit by the pandemic. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two Asian countries that fared worse.
Here are a few things we must do:
One, frame policies for equal-opportunity employment. Use technology and artificial intelligence to eliminate biases of gender, caste, etc, and select candidates at all levels on merit. Numerous surveys indicate that women in general have a better chance of landing jobs if their gender is not known to recruiters.
Two, foster a culture of gender sensitivity. Take a review of current policies and move from gender-neutral to gender-sensitive. Encourage and insist on diversity and inclusion at all levels, and promote more women internally to leadership roles. Demolish silos to let women grab potential opportunities in hitherto male-dominant roles. Work-from-home has taught us how efficiently women can manage flex-timings and productivity.
Three, deploy corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the education and skilling of women and girls at the bottom of the pyramid. CSR allocations to toilet building, the PM-Cares fund and firms’ own trusts could be re-channelled for this.
Four, get more women into research and development (R&D) roles. A study of over 4,000 companies found that more women in R&D jobs resulted in radical innovation. It appears women score far higher than men in championing change. If you seek growth from affordable products and services for low-income groups, women often have the best ideas.
Five, break barriers to allow progress. Cultural and structural issues must be fixed. Unconscious biases and discrimination are rampant even in highly-esteemed organizations. Establish fair and transparent human resource policies.
Six, get involved in local communities to engage them. As Michael Porter said, it is not possible for businesses to sustain long-term shareholder value without ensuring the welfare of the communities they exist in. It is in the best interest of enterprises to engage with local communities to understand and work towards lowering cultural and other barriers in society. It will also help connect with potential customers, employees and special interest groups driving the gender-equity agenda and achieve better diversity.