India’s next leap of growth
Low skilled industries in bottom 100 districts could be panacea to India’s growth
India’s GDP has been contracting for quite a while now since the pandemic began. Government is looking for ways to come out of the bad times but the gravity of the situation is turning more claustrophobic with the passage of time. Firefighting is always the most challenging job when it is lightening everywhere. It is hard to pick and choose the starting point and because time is a limited resource, firefighting at one spot happens at the expense of other. Lets analyze the layers of complexity involved in this process.
Identifying where we are good at:
India has emerged as a formidable force in medium to high end technology space. Banking, Fintech, Information Technology, EdTech and Pharmaceuticals industry are among the few sectors where India has established its position as a global sourcing hub for innovation. Indian companies are locking horns with their global competitors and are giving them a tough time.
Identifying where we are not good at:
India has been the frontier of neither R&D innovation nor low skilled industry. It been doing phenomenally well within its sweet spot- the semi skilled workforce- utilizing the demographic potential. R&D innovation demands risky capital investments which companies have tried to resist given the broken infrastructure India has. But the surprising part is we have not been able to utilize our demographic capital for low skilled jobs. This is the area which has the highest potential to get India back on track.
Hitting the hammer where the Iron is hot:
Among the low skilled jobs, the one that India would not want to miss is textile. Lets discuss the reasons why it could be the shot India is looking for long:
Reasons:
- The primary reason for selecting textile among the lot is that India has been known as a producer of one of the finest fabrics in the entire world for quite a long period in its history. The industry was ruined when it could not keep up the pace with the new age powerlooms of the West. Deep rooted in traditions, indian craftsman putting the world in awe of their work can still be seen in some staggered pockets of the country.
- It is an industry that requires a lot of skilled labour. For every 1 crore of garments produced, 16 jobs are created. With the rising joblessness in the country in last few years, it could prove to be a shot in the arm.
- Female participation in textile industry is also higher compared to other traditional industries. It would help India in making its economy financially inclusive.
Way forward:
One way to do so is to focus on the bottom 100 districts that contribute the least to India’s GDP. States such as Jharkhand have introduced policies to boost textile Industry in such districts which has shown promising results. Thus, the only way forward to India’s economic recovery is by strengthening the fabric of India.
