Department of Commerce of the Republic of India : VICE PRESIDENT INAUGURATES THE PARTNERSHIP SUMMIT IN AGRA KEY CHALLENGE IS TO PROVIDE ENOUGH JOBS IN ....

VICE PRESIDENT INAUGURATES THE PARTNERSHIP SUMMIT IN AGRA KEY CHALLENGE IS TO PROVIDE ENOUGH JOBS IN THE MANUFACTURING AND SERVICES SECTOR SAYS ANAND SHARMA

Date : 27 Jan 2013
Location : New Delhi

The Vice President of India, Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari inaugurated the 19th edition of the CII Partnership Summit in Agra today. Chief Guest Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari, while giving the inaugural address, said that global partnerships will enable global recovery gather ground. "The Government has been dealing with the recent economic challenges," said the Vice President. However, he added, 'challenge before us is to restore as soon as possible the high trajectory along with adequate employment generation, in a sustainable manner. This would be the necessary condition for addressing the primary challenges of poverty alleviation and socio economic development facing us.'

Taking the theme of employment generation forward , the Union Minister for Commerce, Industry & Textiles Shri Anand Sharma, who is the Chairman of the Partnership Summit, said that 200 million young people will enter work force in coming years and National Manufacturing Policy is the one of the key instrumentalities for dealing with this challenge as it will add 100 million jobs by taking the share of manufacturing to 25 per cent in next decade. He also highlighted the unprecedented crisis of unemployment, which is being faced by countries world over. "Based on the current trends, there would be an estimated shortage of 40 million skilled workers and 45 million semi-skilled workers globally within this decade. Countries like India will see 200 million additional job seekers in the next 10 years as they shift from the rural economy towards urban industrial activity," said Shri Sharma. He said that there is a serious challenge for policy makers "to provide enough jobs in the manufacturing and services industry to absorb these people and to impart adequate skill sets to make them employable." He also said that the government will continue its emphasis on imparting skills to the youth to reap the demographic dividend of a largely young population.

Speaking during the inaugural session - "Global Partnerships for Enduring Growth", Shri Sharma said that the since the onset of the global financial crisis four years ago, the global economy even today continues to struggle with the unabated impact in its aftermath. "Latest projections indicate that this year, the growth will be weak at 3.5%, almost at the same level as last year (3.2%). What is even more worrisome is the slowdown in growth of developing economies, which grew at 5.1% last year, registering perhaps the slowest growth in the last decade," said Shri Sharma. Shri Sharma also expressed concern over the continued volatility in capital flows and wobbly recovery in the major markets.

He said that to get out of the crisis situation, countries world over have to engage with one another in a proactive manner. "India has remained conscious of this process of economic integration and even in the peak of the economic crisis, we stepped out and engaged with the rest of the world and in the last three years, we have signed comprehensive economic partnership agreements with ASEAN, Malaysia and Japan and are negotiating similar agreements with Thailand, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and our BITA with European Union is on the verge of conclusion. At the last East Asian Summit in Cambodia, we have joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations, which will perhaps emerge as the largest trading bloc in the entire world, including countries of ASEAN, Japan, Korea, China, Australia and New Zealand apart from India," said Shri Sharma.

UP Chief Minister, Shri Akhilesh Yadav called the event 'a Maha Kumbh of industrial leaders' and showcased the opportunities in the state and invited the industrialists to benefit from the new opportunities. He emphasized that growth in order to be enduring has to be inclusive and that is possible by the partnership of all sections of society.

Shri Anand Sharma, is the Chairman of the Partnership Summit which is being organized by CII in collaboration with Commerce and Industry Minstry and Uttar Pradesh government. Trade Ministers from 23 countries, international delegates, corporate leaders, policy makers and experts from India and across the world Ministers are attending the Summit.

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