Shed hesitation, expand capacity: FM’s message to India Inc

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday urged India Inc to shed hesitation and make investments in capacity expansions, taking advantage of the government’s policies and reforms such as the goods and services tax (GST) rate rationalisation.

Sitharaman also sought industry’s suggestions on additional measures that can be implemented by the government.

“I hope there is no more hesitation for the industry to invest further, to expand capacities, produce more in India, and what else is required by the government to do, spell them out,” she said, addressing a symposium organised by the Indian Foundation For Quality Management (IFQM).

The minister emphasised that the industry must recognise the need for a skilled workforce to drive India’s economic growth, which will be a focus area for the Modi government. The Centre has identified premier institutions Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for setting up centres of excellence for AI-related R&D and training, focusing on areas like agriculture, education, health, and urban living besides space and nuclear technology. “We also have to periodically remind ourselves that we need to attend to the skilling requirement or else industry will be hard pressed for human resource and will not get the advantage of the demographic dividend,” Sitharaman said.

She added that the government aims to provide AI-driven skills to youngsters, including school dropouts and those with basic qualifications, by upgrading Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country, and adopting a hub-and-spoke model to provide AI-driven training centres. She also highlighted the importance of collaboration between the government, industry, and training institutions to ensure that the skilling programmes meet the industry’s requirements.

She asked the industry to partner with the government in skilling youth and also engage with the government throughout the year, and not just before the Budget.Focus on MSMEs
Sitharaman said the Centre recognises the significance of the MSME sector, which contributes substantially to India’s GDP, and is working to provide support, including training and credit facilities, to MSME clusters. She noted that the government is working with MSME clusters for training programmes catering to their specific needs to upskill the workforce and improve productivity.