n this episode of Strategic Minds, Mr Neeraj Thakur, Editor, Outlook Business, sits down with Mr Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), for an engaging conversation on India’s evolving employment landscape.
The discussion delves into how India can equip its youth with future-ready skills, the role of artificial intelligence in shaping cognitive and creative jobs, and the importance of building a scalable and inclusive skilling ecosystem. The episode also touches upon the rise of content creation as a mainstream career path and how India has the potential to rule the creator economy.
The discussion delves into how India can equip its youth with future-ready skills, the role of artificial intelligence in shaping cognitive and creative jobs, and the importance of building a scalable and inclusive skilling ecosystem. The episode also touches upon the rise of content creation as a mainstream career path and how India has the potential to rule the creator economy.
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00:00World will add 100 crore new people over the next 25 years and every fourth will be an Indian.
00:05As an Indian, we will be able to participate in global economy. So our stake is not on the GDP
00:10of India alone. Our stake is on every fourth dollar of value created anywhere in the world.
00:15Now we are seeing another revolution happening around us. What we are finding is that AI will
00:20be able to take a lot of cognitive jobs that we have been doing. I think we are entering into an
00:26era of intelligence. AI is just not a technology. It's a revolution. It's all about productivity
00:32growth. Private sector should offer better salary and perk than the government sector offers. Now
00:37with OTTs coming into the world, the content consumption has increased tremendously. We can
00:42become the content creators for the whole world. We are creating Indian Institute of Creative Skills
00:48which is focusing on these areas. South Korea was having a recession issue. They created the whole
00:53entertainment industry in South Korea and how much it is giving opportunity for that country.
00:58I was recently in Saudi Arabia and we know the cultural factors. Still Saudi Arabia is creating
01:02a huge entertainment industry in their country. We are more excited when we do creative jobs.
01:08Adopt the creator's economy. That's the way forward.
01:23We are living in the age of AI, a time in the history of human civilization where everything
01:40is going to change. Countries are worried about skilling their youth, their population in terms of
01:48their ability to find jobs in the new economy. The same is the situation of India, home to
01:54world's largest population in the world. And we have today with us Mr. Vedmani Tiwari who is the CEO of
02:02NSTC. He is in charge of skilling India's youth. And today in this episode of Strategic Minds,
02:10we will be discussing the issue of equipping Indian youth to deal with AI. Welcome to our show, sir.
02:18Thank you so much, Neeraj, for having me here.
02:21Mr. Tiwari, what does it feel like to be in charge of developing the skill of the youth of world's most
02:27populous nation? So I will be completing my four years in a few months time. And when I arrived at
02:34NSTC, it was peak of COVID. And believe me, it has been a humongous challenge all these four years.
02:43No set protocol was actually relevant in that time. And we all were struggling that how do we handle this
02:54massive change which has happened around economy, society around us. But thankfully, the Honourable
03:01Prime Minister accelerated the rollout of national education policy. And over the last four years, we have
03:09worked with educators and the business leaders in the country to build an ecosystem which is very
03:17different from what we had around four years ago. Around four years ago, the skill ecosystem in this
03:23country was around that there are some people who will not be able to cope up with the general education
03:29system. And they will have to be provided an alternative path, which was considered as a vocational
03:33education path, a step cousin to a general education system. And that's how the skill ecosystem was being
03:42shaped at that point of time. I come from hardcore businesses. And I came with this idea that it's not
03:50about people who are not who are out of education system, who need skills, you and I need to be
03:58reskilled upskilled every single day. And that's where the whole idea that the entire country need to be
04:06skilled, reskilled upskilled. And with this in thought, we started few major initiatives at NSDC. One was that
04:15economy and society is digitalizing big time around us post COVID. You see that today, every part of
04:22our life, whether it's hailing a cab or ordering a food or ordering groceries for our home, we are all
04:30using digital methods to do that. Thankfully, our ecosystem was ready for this. The mobile penetration
04:38had happened. And some great innovation happened in form of UPI. Now we can you and I can see that even a
04:45fruit vendor has a QR code on their cart and people use that. So this whole thing about mobile internet
04:53and the app ecosystem, which was digitizing our day to day life means that we have to focus a lot on
05:02digital, both on ecosystem, which will create digital solutions for our day to day lives. But
05:10also, digital has to become a true means of skilling. Today, what I believe is that everybody needs
05:17digital skills, a driver who's driving a cab more than the driving skill, what is important for this
05:23person is that can they use Google map? Can they share their live location? Can they accept payments,
05:31digital payments? Can they make themselves available on digital platforms? And you name any person who is
05:39participating in the economy today, the digital skills have become extremely important. So this whole
05:45skilling ecosystem had to be digitalized, both in form of content creation and also digitalization of
05:54economy. So we created NSDC Digital, which has built the world's biggest skilling online skilling platform,
06:01which is called Skill India Digital Hub or SID and has also onboarded India's best education ecosystem on
06:11this online platform. We are now building NSDC Digital, which is doing the digital interpretation of
06:18labor markets at a global scale. So NSDC Digital became an important theme and that's how we started
06:24revolutionize our skill ecosystem. Then we also believe that in last 10 years, whatever has been done
06:32in this country, we are no more facing a problem of people coming out of the education system due to force.
06:39our enrolments in school education is now 100%. Every child goes to school. We have to create a path where
06:49those who want to come out of the education system by choice should have the alternative pathways.
06:54But we also have to make education more relevant for job markets. So we created NSDC Academy,
07:00which is working in higher education system. And we have done some really path-breaking ideas there,
07:07where we have brought the global recognition for the courses there. So our credit-based education
07:16ecosystem is now allowing that we are working with Amazons and Googles of the world to bring
07:22their certifications into education ecosystem. So NSDC Academy is doing a fantastic job on making
07:28higher education relevant. We have now started getting into schools. We believe that the children who are
07:35studying in school, they need to be prepared for a very different life that is awaiting them will come
07:40to AI and how it is going to change the world. So the school ecosystem, we are bringing the those skills
07:47and global globally relevant programs to school ecosystem. The third area where we were very keen is
07:54that today the world might be fragmenting on logistics and physical terms, but the world is integrating big time on digital channels.
08:06And the proof of that is the global capability centers. Believe me or not, 45% of all global capability centers anywhere in the world are now in India.
08:16That means that we are now true innovators of the world. We are no more back office or a call center for the world. We are creators of the world.
08:26And just one piece of information that world will add 100 crore new people over the next 25 years and every fourth will be an Indian.
08:36So as an Indian, we will be able to participate in global economy. So our stake is not on the GDP of India alone. Our stake is on every fourth dollar of value created anywhere in the world.
08:47With that thought in mind, we structure NSDC International as a strategic business unit, which works with the governments and businesses around the world to open up the job opportunities for India, whether it's digitally delivered remote services or a care job in other countries.
09:06That's the work that NSDC International does. Last but not the least, we believe that our purpose is to make these opportunities accessible to all.
09:16So democratization of opportunities is very important for us. With that in mind, we created NSDC Impact Finance, which is bringing lots of new solutions for those who cannot afford the skill or education in this new emerging world.
09:32So these four strategic initiatives, NSDC Digital, NSDC Academy, NSDC International and NSDC Impact Finance are the four pillars of our strategy, which are keeping us excited, motivated and very positive about upcoming scenario.
09:53Yeah. Mr. Tiwari, there is one issue that I have faced and I have realized over the years, you know, myself attended a government school and even in a government school, you know, where the income of people sending their kids may not be high.
10:06They looked down upon vocational training. I remember not wanting to attend the vocational training class simply because I believed, you know, it will not take me anywhere.
10:15Even though, like, I've moved very, you know, in a different direction, I'm sitting at the top of the funnel today.
10:20But an average Indian does not want to undergo any kind of vocational training.
10:26There is more focus on humanities, maybe just getting degrees, which may not lend you any kind of a job.
10:32So do you think that there is a need for a cultural shift when it comes to an average Indian thinking about what a career should be like?
10:41Because we have a large number of people doing open education, you know, having degrees, MAs and some, you know, are even enrolling in, you know, MPhil and PhDs.
10:51But they are finding it very difficult to get jobs.
10:55On the other hand, if you go to the U.S. or any other economy, you know, maybe, you know, South Korea or China, there has been a lot of focus on vocational training.
11:02So as someone who is in charge of skilling Indians, do you think the government is also working on the cultural shift towards vocational training?
11:12See, I would like to talk about this issue at two levels.
11:16One is that how do we define vocational education?
11:22As long as we define vocational education as a means to get a job which will fetch you minimum wages, it will never be aspirational.
11:32And but if we start defining vocational education into a much larger canvas, it will definitely change.
11:42And let's talk about what has been our strength.
11:45We have been a country of creators, our architecture, our music, our dance forms, culture.
11:54We have been a country of creators.
11:56Now, we have the opportunity to reimagine our strength.
12:02I just give an example that today we say that pottery looks like a messy work that you have to deal with clay and things like that.
12:10If you just imagine that we introduce children to design thinking and bring them the magic of computing for designs and they do designs of the pottery on their laptops or mobile phones.
12:28And are able to give a print command where the printing happens on a 3D printer.
12:34That's a very aspirational world.
12:36And that's what I believe that we have to think about that.
12:39How do we thrive on our strength, our culture, our creativity and bring a digital or technology component into this?
12:48And that's how we lead.
12:49And as far as the degree or pursuance of a degree is concerned, it happens for all of us because in the absence of any other signal to the job market, your degree or your institution becomes your passport to a fancy job.
13:06Now, the world is realizing that and we are seeing it all around us.
13:11We have the stories of how the best of the institutions are not able to play students because businesses are now realizing that they will not just pay premium because you are coming from a pedigreed institute or you have a fancy degree.
13:24Your skills are something that are going to be evolving for your future.
13:30Now, 30% of our higher education institutions, students are studying STEM education.
13:3970% are in commerce and humanities.
13:43And our GR is only at 28% today.
13:47If you look at the developed world, the GR is at as high 70% or 75%.
13:51So, there is no denying the fact that we have to get more and more students to complete their graduation.
13:59Not for degree, but to be prepared for an emerging world which requires a greater problem-solving or critical thinking approach.
14:10With that in mind, and I told you that NSDC Academy is working in this area, that how do we bring the global context into our education system?
14:19And this is where I believe we are at an important juncture.
14:24There was a dawn of industrial era when steam engines were invented.
14:30And we all know that is how steam engines help us overcome our limitations of physical, our physical limitations imposed because of the evolution.
14:40We can now fly.
14:41We don't have wings, but we can fly to any part of the world.
14:44It's thanks to industrial revolution.
14:45Now, we are seeing another revolution happening around us.
14:49What we are finding is that AI and especially generative AI and the agentic AI will be able to take a lot of cognitive jobs that we have been doing.
15:01And all this debate around services versus manufacturing is all about muscle versus cognitive jobs.
15:09People think that cognitive jobs are more important.
15:11And I think we are entering into an era of intelligence.
15:17So, from industrial era, we are transitioning to an intelligence era.
15:23And if you go back in the history, from agriculture era to industrial era, made lots of changes in society, economy, polity, civilization.
15:34We will see those changes happening all around us.
15:37AI is just not a technology.
15:40It's a revolution.
15:43It's an onset of an era of intelligence.
15:48And I'm reminded of one conversation that I had a few years back with Brancheski.
15:54Where he was talking that we are only 20% better than chimpanzees when it comes to our brains because we have frontal neocortex, which is a seat of creativity.
16:06Now, how many, what percentage of our waking time we use our frontal neocortex?
16:11We are all in the default mode.
16:13Something we do in subconscious is not a frontal neocortex.
16:16A cognitive era will help us leave all our mundane physical and cognitive jobs and to focus on creative jobs.
16:25And that, I believe, is an opportunity which, as a country, we have to think that every dawn of era has created winners.
16:38The winners of agricultural era were some other countries.
16:42Winners of industrial era were some other countries.
16:45Now, we are entering into an era of intelligence and that's our opportunity.
16:51I'm very positive about it.
16:53But since we're discussing the age of AI, do you think the population of India, do you think it will be an asset or a liability?
17:01Why I'm saying so?
17:02Because what we are discussing now is like, you know, if you are able to get into deep thinking, you know, that, you know, leaving those mundane jobs, that something that can be taken over by AI, you will flourish in the AI economy.
17:14But being a nation of 140 crore people with an average age of less than 30 years, how many people would be able to become so creative so that, you know, their world uses that creativity and they are at the top of the funnel, even not the top of the funnel, because everything else is going to be taken away by AI.
17:34So what's your view on that?
17:37So examples in front of us, about 30, 40 years ago, we were losing almost every cricket test match.
17:44Now we are the leading cricketing country in the world.
17:49It has happened not because of Delhi, Mumbai.
17:52It has happened because cricket has gone to every nook and corner of the country.
17:56We saw in during COVID period, how TikTok took creativity to the remotest part of the country.
18:02And after that, how creators economy has unleashed in this country.
18:07So my belief is that our people are very enterprising.
18:11They have creative, they are enterprising, they have entrepreneurial mindset.
18:16You throw them into something.
18:19And that's the example is in front of us.
18:21India coped COVID much better than any other country could have.
18:26It happened only because of the entrepreneurial spirit that our people have and how we come together in a crisis.
18:33All of us know that how WhatsApp groups were created to deal.
18:37The groups, communities dealt with it rather than a structured response.
18:42So my belief is that it's a true opportunity for us.
18:46But one thing that worries me is that the pace of change is happening very fast.
18:52Yes.
18:52And that is a sense of worry for me.
18:56But otherwise, I'm a firm believer that every technology has only created more prosperity.
19:04And it's all about exponential growth.
19:07We are entering into an era of exponential growth.
19:10Productivity gains over the last five decades have been around 2-2.5% around the world.
19:15So just imagine that the figure.ai or Tesla, when they're talking about human-eyed robots.
19:20Today, the cost of labor in the US is about $40 an hour.
19:26Now, if we are on track, the human-eyed robots will be available to you at $0.40 an hour.
19:32Now, the kind of productivity growth that one can think of, that worries me.
19:37That we have to bring some sort of urgency into our society and in our ecosystem.
19:46That we will be great to adopt.
19:48But the urgency has to be brought in.
19:53We cannot let this opportunity go away.
19:56We have seen that with the renewable energy, China took away all the manufacturing for solar module and things like that.
20:04This is an opportunity where everybody is almost, countries may be one year, two years ahead of us.
20:10That's not a big thing to be worried about.
20:13But we have to bring in urgency into our ecosystem.
20:16Definitely, since we are discussing humanoids.
20:18But don't you think, Mr. Tiwari, that humanoids are actually going to be pitched against an average Indian who you are training today?
20:24Whatever kind of courses, whatever kind of efforts are there.
20:27So, as someone whose job is to get, you know, a skill set to Indians so that they can land a job or they can find, you know, means of living.
20:39What is the fear of, how many people would be required to create humanoids?
20:43Because once a humanoid comes in, he would be able to create more humanoids.
20:46That's the beauty or maybe, you know, the threat of AI or this modern era.
20:52As, you know, someone in charge of this, dealing with this challenge, what are your thoughts?
20:57Do you get nightmares about thinking about this?
20:59No, I am a great proponent of technology and technology has always created opportunities.
21:06So, see, even if you go to chat GPT today, what it says that my information is accurate as of dates so and so.
21:13So, that means that the whole talk around…
21:18The 4.0 is always getting you more data.
21:20The more you interact with them…
21:21Still, it's relying upon the knowledge created by human beings.
21:26Yeah, definitely.
21:27We may say that it's a generative AI, but it is relying upon the knowledge created by human beings.
21:33It's able to contextualize it and present it to you in a certain way.
21:38Human beings have to enter into a very different era of creativity.
21:42Now, I just give one example.
21:47The invention of language, how big invention it was.
21:52Today, all creativity is actually subservient to a language.
21:56If your language…
21:57You cannot think anything which is not natural to your language that comes to your mind.
22:03So, probably, humanity has to now get into these kind of innovations.
22:11A newer kind of language.
22:13A newer kind of methods of production.
22:16Space.
22:17As we have to get into space big time.
22:21Lots of manufacturing can move to space.
22:23Where you can do manufacturing in zero gravity.
22:26You can bring down the cost of energy.
22:29You can bring down the cost of waste of material.
22:32These are the thoughts that we have to bring in.
22:35And we have to only create an ecosystem for our youngsters.
22:38They are very bright.
22:39They want to do something very different.
22:41And so, I also believe that AI should not be seen as a threat.
22:45It should be seen as an opportunity.
22:48And we should all create this optimism in the mind of our young generation.
22:54That you have much better opportunity than we had.
22:58And make best use of it.
23:00So, I am very clear that the AI is a revolution.
23:08It depends upon innovation in almost every field.
23:12So, it is a blockchain or cloud computing or chip manufacturing.
23:17So, we are now entering into an era where knowledge cannot be confined to disciplines.
23:24Interdisciplinary is the name of the day.
23:27And that is where the education ecosystem can play a very big role.
23:32I have worked in private sector big time.
23:34I have been in the education sector for the last only four years.
23:38My take is that the businesses are not as alive to the opportunities or threat of AI.
23:47Education system is definitely doing much better.
23:50I interact with the education administrators.
23:53Whether they are universities or colleges or AICT or UGC.
23:59They are definitely far ahead in terms of thinking.
24:02So, I believe that our education system is responding well.
24:06What we believe is that our businesses have to see this as an opportunity for productivity growth that they have never imagined.
24:14And once that happens, we can do wonders.
24:18Mr. Thivari, as you said that our educators are doing better at the educational institutes.
24:22Are you talking about the top of the funnel educational institutes or even those institutes?
24:27Maybe an engineering college somewhere in the small city of Bihar or maybe Madhya Pradesh.
24:34Because what we saw in the data that was coming up that India is producing the largest number of engineers in the world.
24:41But still, you know, their skill set was not up to the mark.
24:44So, has this been changed in recent past?
24:47And that's where NSDC Academy chose a path for that only.
24:52We are working with tier 3, tier 4 institutions only.
24:56And things that we are doing is that taking advantage of the national education policy, there are three big interventions we are doing.
25:04One, we are bringing globally relevant certification into an educational institution itself.
25:11So, whether it's NVIDIA or Microsoft or IBM or ABB, Schneider, Siemens, think of any emerging technology.
25:20Those we have brought in as in form of Indian Institute of Future Skills into higher academic institutions.
25:26That means that every education institution, even if it is in the remotest part of the country, can have access to the global best education and certification.
25:37And there is no threat of obsolescence also because these companies, when they are innovating and they are improving their technology,
25:44without any time lag, they will get transferred there because they are doing the assessment and certification.
25:48And also signaling perspective, it's no more about your degree, it's about the global certifications that you acquired through this route.
25:58So, that's one intervention that we are doing and that's where we believe that opportunity lies for every college-going children.
26:05The second thing that we are doing is that we are working with institutes of national importance like IITs and IAM.
26:12And what we are doing is that I talked to you about NSDC Digital.
26:15Through NSDC Digital, we are providing digital platforms through which IITs and IAMs are creating micro-credentials.
26:24And these micro-credentials we are taking to these higher education institutions are embedding into their curriculum.
26:30Now, that's the second intervention that we are doing that every child, whichever college they are studying,
26:36they will have access to the best of the faculty in the country.
26:40And that's why we are democratizing the excellence of education.
26:45The third thing that we are doing is that we are working with those who are in the workforce
26:49and taking advantage of this NSDC Digital and NSDC Academy,
26:54we are forming a tripartite arrangements between employers, educational institutions and NSDC
27:00so that their workplace learning can be transferred and translated into an academic outcome
27:05and that's how they can achieve their higher education outcome.
27:08So, these three interventions are actually opening up the opportunity for every student in the country.
27:15First time, you have the real opportunity to design your own degree.
27:19Where you can, you are signaling to the market would be that I am BSD mass from somewhere.
27:24But I have done Python codes from IBM.
27:27I have the cloud computing certification from Azure.
27:31And I have data science micro-credential from IIT Delhi.
27:34So, that's a thing that we are doing.
27:38You will say that this is all about technical.
27:40But we are also working with higher education institution on humanities and commerce side.
27:45Now, imagine that today, if the history student, they need to learn technical skills also.
27:54How interesting it would be that if you are teaching Roman era history
27:58and if you use Google Earth platform and take them into Google Street View,
28:02you take them into cathedral itself and from there, you start teaching them
28:06how powerful it is for humanities education.
28:09So, whether it's AI or digital marketing, creativity,
28:15our humanities can transform big time.
28:18Commerce education.
28:20Today, the students have a choice either to go to BCom or do a chartered accountancy.
28:25As I told you that we are now doing cutting-edge work for global companies.
28:31So, we will soon be doing accounting, compliance, bookkeeping for companies around the world.
28:39And if we can embed the certification for global accounting, bookkeeping, etc.
28:45into our education system.
28:46So, we are working with commerce students.
28:48We are working with humanities students.
28:49And there is an opportunity to bring these things into a higher education system.
28:54And that's how we can truly transform.
28:57This is an opportunity for now businesses to respond.
29:02That those who are already in the workforce, how do we reach out to them?
29:06And I'm happy that some of the very large corporates in the country
29:10have responded to this request from our side.
29:13And right now, I cannot disclose, but soon we will come out with those partnerships
29:17where the whole groups are now joining this skilling revolution in the country.
29:24So, Tiwari, while we have a lot of people, especially at the bottom of the pyramid,
29:31in the past, they may not have had the skill set to find jobs.
29:34But at the same time, India is also home to the brightest minds in the world.
29:38Our last cover story actually focused upon the fact that India has actually been losing
29:43those brightest minds because, you know, for the higher studies, especially the STEM students,
29:49they end up going to other countries.
29:52And then, because they are so good, they never come back.
29:54Those countries just hold them back.
29:56Don't you think that this will create an issue in the times when the world is competing?
30:01People are now calling that AI is actually the next Manhattan Project.
30:04And India needs to have its best minds working in India,
30:07not in GCCs, creating technology for others, but for their own country.
30:11How do you look at this issue?
30:13So, I believe that if you see the latest RBI report,
30:17that we got remittances of $130 billion last year.
30:21We worked a lot on FDI.
30:23FDI was $70 billion, but remittances was $130 billion.
30:27So, even if the young minds who are going and working,
30:31and a major proportion of this FDI is now no more coming from GCC countries,
30:35these are coming from the developed part of the world.
30:37So, if our brightest of mind go to those countries,
30:41they are at least bringing the foreign capital back to us.
30:45Our foreign currency bill for oil imports is around $120 billion.
30:49So, look at it from that perspective.
30:52Our trade deficit is around $240 billion
30:54and $130 billion being compensated by this.
30:58So, as a country, we have to focus on both.
31:01But the bigger opportunity is that
31:03everybody in the world realizes that India is today at $2,500 per capita GDP.
31:10Now, if we grow at 6% real,
31:14we'll be somewhere around $25 trillion GDP by 2050.
31:18That would mean about $18,000 per capita GDP.
31:22Now, imagine that a $2,500 per capita GDP country
31:27versus a $20,000 per capita GDP country.
31:30And India has been our local consumption growth story.
31:34We have never been an export-oriented growth story.
31:37We are a local consumption-based growth story.
31:39The whole world will actually create products for India.
31:44The GCCs will become vehicle.
31:47This whole thing about that the Western countries,
31:50right-wing parties getting a foothold there.
31:53Well, only what we will do is that
31:55most of the innovative projects will be coming to India
31:59and our brightest minds will not have to go there.
32:02So, I believe that we should have a,
32:04just like we talk about free capital,
32:07no restriction on movement of goods.
32:09Same way I talk about that it should be
32:11a free movement of talent.
32:14And wherever they go,
32:16imagine that 25 years ago,
32:19the Y2K created an opportunity for us
32:23and we are IT superpower of the world.
32:26The world's best companies have CEOs of Indian origin.
32:30Now, I see another revolution unfolding
32:33in front of our eyes.
32:34The whole world is struggling with care,
32:37whether it's a healthcare or social care
32:39or geriatric care.
32:41And there is huge demand for Indians as care workers.
32:46Now, I believe that
32:49whatever right-wing politics happens,
32:52nobody will be able to say no to care workers.
32:55Yes.
32:55And Indian, imagine that...
32:57Are Indian ahead of other countries in terms
33:00because Indonesia and all these countries,
33:01Bangladesh, Pakistan,
33:03they would also want to tap into the same opportunity.
33:05Somehow, I believe that Indian diaspora
33:08has done a great job for India.
33:10Every country in the world realizes
33:12that Indian diaspora is the most constructive diaspora.
33:15We have never had a problem.
33:17I will not talk about other diaspora.
33:21But we all know that Indian diaspora
33:22has never been a source of problem
33:24for any other country.
33:26And whatever examples you are talking about,
33:28none of them will stand anywhere near this
33:30because there is a perception
33:31that Indians are peace-loving.
33:33They are hard-working.
33:34They want to create wealth for themselves.
33:37And then, in turn,
33:38they create wealth for the society.
33:41And they are caring people.
33:42We are, by nature, caring people.
33:44So, as a care worker,
33:46our stock is very high in the world.
33:48Imagine that
33:49if there are millions of Indian care workers
33:53embedded into every household in the world,
33:57it's a soft power
33:58of India that will be there.
34:00So, our GCCs will be deploying our cognitive power
34:05and our care workers will be deploying our soft power to the world.
34:11And this is a world of opportunity that I see in front of me.
34:15I believe that we should not worry about brain drain.
34:19In today's world,
34:20the digitally integrated economies and knowledge ecosystems,
34:24even if they are sitting in another part of the world,
34:27actually, they are creating product for India.
34:30And that's where the world's growth lies.
34:33You see the flow of capital coming to India,
34:35both FDI and remittance economy.
34:38We are at a good place.
34:39Mr. Thibali, let's discuss about creator's economy,
34:41which has taken off post-COVID.
34:44Everyone has data packs now
34:45and everyone wants to be a creator in India.
34:47In fact, we are working on a story
34:50where we have just come across examples
34:51of people quitting their education
34:54midway just to become creators.
34:56As someone in charge of skill development for Indian youth,
34:59how do you see this area of job creation
35:05as an opportunity for young people to work on?
35:09Because we also know from data
35:12that maybe if you are a creator on LinkedIn
35:14or Instagram or TikTok,
35:16you may be a superstar today,
35:19you may be zero maybe after a few years.
35:21So do you think that people should take the risk
35:22of leaving their formal education
35:24and just wanting to be creators
35:27as young as 12 or 13 years old?
35:31See, I see in creating creator's economy
35:33two big opportunities.
35:35One, now with OTTs coming into the world
35:38and the whole social media,
35:41the content consumption has increased tremendously
35:44and there is a lot of local content
35:47that is coming up.
35:49So there is a tremendous opportunity
35:51for people wherever they are
35:54to bring their talent to the markets.
35:59The other area is that
36:00the disintermediation that is happening.
36:03Earlier, if you were a great singer,
36:05you had to depend upon
36:06whether a music label will give you
36:08an opportunity to record your song or not.
36:10So you can bring your talent
36:13in front of the world.
36:15And so I see,
36:17and the other area is that
36:18we can become the content creators
36:21for the whole world.
36:22And just an example that
36:24around two, three decades ago,
36:27when South Korea was having a recession issue,
36:31they created the whole
36:32entertainment industry in South Korea
36:34and how much it is giving opportunity
36:38for that country.
36:40I was recently in Saudi Arabia
36:41and we know the cultural factors.
36:43Still, Saudi Arabia is creating
36:45a huge entertainment industry
36:46in their country.
36:48And I believe that as Indians,
36:50we love dance,
36:52we love music,
36:53we love every form of content creation.
36:56We can become the natural capital
36:58of the world for creativity.
36:59So we can create VFX
37:01and all sorts of content
37:02for entertainment industry
37:03anywhere in the world.
37:05So one is a creative aspect of this.
37:07The other is that
37:09the whole technology aspect behind it.
37:11You and I,
37:12when we set up a podcast,
37:14there are a lot of people
37:15behind the scene
37:16who work on it.
37:17There's a lot of post-production happens,
37:19pre-production happens.
37:20So how do you call them
37:22whether they're creators or not?
37:23But they enable
37:24the creative processes to happen.
37:26So technology is coming
37:27big time into the creator.
37:29We are creating
37:30Indian Institute of Creative Skills
37:32which is focusing on these areas
37:34that how do we get the creators
37:38the access to the certification
37:41and the talent development opportunity.
37:44Just for one example
37:45that I would say
37:46is that I have been noticing
37:47these changes.
37:48Today,
37:49every wedding has a wedding planner.
37:51And there are seminars,
37:54webinars happening
37:55all over the country.
37:56even now you have
37:58a birthday party planner
37:59and all this.
38:01How many people
38:01do we have in this country
38:02who are actually trained
38:04and certified
38:04in the event planning?
38:06And you now even see
38:08that earlier
38:09our own stars
38:10used to go abroad
38:11for doing concerts.
38:13I'm seeing a welcome change
38:14over the last few months
38:15that lots of these stars
38:17are doing concerts in India.
38:19You might have also seen
38:20that one of our largest
38:21food app operator
38:23has acquired
38:23another firm
38:24which is only focused on
38:26concerts and going out.
38:29So this is another economy emerging
38:31that which is somewhere
38:34in between the management
38:35and the creation.
38:36And the third area
38:37that we also see
38:38is that the designer ecosystem.
38:41And recently,
38:42I was at the Bangalore airport
38:44terminal 2.
38:45It's such a beautiful airport.
38:47Very looks very Indian in its feel.
38:50But suddenly you realize
38:51that the architects
38:53are from U.S.
38:54Now, we need people
38:56who can do these designs
38:58within the country
38:59because we need those creators.
39:02And that's where we are working
39:04on Indian Institute of Design Skills.
39:07Today, whether you have
39:08a mobile phone
39:09or a pen
39:10or a shoe,
39:11everything is designed.
39:12So opportunities
39:14for design-related
39:16things are huge.
39:18And also the whole
39:19digital ecosystem
39:20that enables those creativity
39:22that is also a big opportunity.
39:25So I would highly recommend
39:27even at the risk
39:28of being proved wrong
39:30at some point of time,
39:31I still believe that
39:32as human beings,
39:34we are more excited
39:35when we do creative jobs.
39:37And I would highly recommend
39:39that request parents
39:41of the children
39:42and also children
39:43to be bold
39:44and adopt the creator's economy.
39:47That's the way forward.
39:48Mr. Thibari,
39:49because every kind of economy
39:52competes with the other economy.
39:54Just to give an example,
39:55in the 90s,
39:56when Indians decided
39:57to be a services economy,
39:59everyone wanted to be
40:00a white-collar worker,
40:01including myself,
40:02because my father
40:03was a blue-collar worker.
40:04I didn't want to be
40:05on that side
40:05because I saw
40:06the perks of being
40:07on the jobs
40:09where you don't have
40:10to stand
40:10and work
40:11inside a shop floor.
40:13Indians somehow
40:14develop disdain
40:16for the jobs
40:18which may pay you more
40:19but may be
40:21in difficult conditions
40:22of a manufacturing plant.
40:25And India,
40:25to an extent,
40:27faces the brunt today
40:28because,
40:29you know,
40:29we have missed the bus
40:31on the manufacturing side
40:32and we know
40:32that,
40:32you know,
40:34the difference
40:34between India and China
40:35is actually the difference
40:36between the choices we made.
40:38China became
40:38a manufacturing economy.
40:40They are today,
40:40you know,
40:41five times the size of India
40:42and India became
40:43a services economy.
40:43We have created
40:44a large number of jobs
40:45but still,
40:45they are not enough
40:46to absorb
40:47the high population
40:49of Indians.
40:52Do you think
40:53that the creator's economy
40:54will also create,
40:57continue to have
40:58that,
40:58you know,
40:58that disdain
40:59among Indian youth
41:00that,
41:00you know,
41:01they would never want
41:01to be part of
41:02a manufacturing plant
41:03and rather they would
41:04just dream of
41:05becoming successful creators
41:07which may not
41:09become true eventually.
41:10Yes,
41:11a lot of people
41:11would be absorbed
41:12but not all of them.
41:13So,
41:14how do we create
41:15that kind of a system
41:17where people realize
41:18that maybe perhaps,
41:19you know,
41:19being a creator
41:21is not everyone's
41:22cup of tea
41:22and at some point in time
41:23they need to accept
41:24that,
41:25you know,
41:26they are meant
41:26for perhaps
41:27something else.
41:28So,
41:28I see,
41:30we may see things
41:31from in retrospect
41:33that China
41:34adopted a manufacturing
41:35path
41:36and we adopted
41:36a services path.
41:38In economics,
41:39you have a term
41:40called comparative
41:41advantage
41:42and a comparative
41:44advantage
41:44is a product
41:45of technology
41:46or economic
41:48forces
41:48at that point
41:49of time.
41:50So,
41:51and as large
41:53system like
41:54India,
41:54we should not say
41:55that we miss the bus.
41:57probably the most
41:58efficient outcome
41:59possible at that
42:00point of time
42:01was a movement
42:02to a services
42:03based economy
42:04which lifted us
42:06out of 400-500
42:07dollar per capita
42:08GDP
42:09to where we are today.
42:10There is also
42:10a perceptible change
42:12in the manufacturing
42:13system itself.
42:15The kind of plants
42:16that we had
42:17at that point
42:18of time
42:18versus
42:19kind of the
42:20manufacturing plants
42:21that are coming
42:22today much cleaner,
42:23more automated
42:24than what they
42:25were yesterday.
42:27We are talking
42:27about industry
42:284.0.
42:29You are talking
42:30about robotics
42:30on the shop floor.
42:32You are talking
42:32about the 3D
42:34printing.
42:35So,
42:35we are also
42:36witnessing a
42:37very new
42:38ecosystem of
42:39manufacturing
42:39and it's our
42:41job as
42:42leaders to go
42:44and tell our
42:44students that
42:45see,
42:47I come from
42:47infrastructure sector
42:48and the joy
42:50of seeing a
42:51metro running
42:52in the city
42:53is far more
42:54powerful to me
42:55than,
42:55and I'm being
42:56honest,
42:56that a song
42:57creator would
42:58feel very excited
42:59once they have
43:00created a song.
43:01For me,
43:02a joy of seeing
43:03a metro running
43:04full of people
43:05is far more
43:06powerful than
43:07anything.
43:07So,
43:07people have
43:08their choices
43:08and we should
43:11believe that
43:13as a country
43:14we are different.
43:16There will be
43:16lots of people
43:17like me
43:18and who would
43:19love infrastructure
43:20construction,
43:22who would love
43:22manufacturing,
43:23who would love
43:24to see cars
43:25coming out of
43:25the factory
43:26every day,
43:26who would see
43:27new products
43:27coming out of
43:28the factory
43:28every day,
43:30plants will be
43:31built.
43:32And the
43:33causative factor,
43:34today's technology
43:35allows you to
43:37now customize
43:38at scale.
43:39When China
43:40became factory
43:40of the world,
43:41the dominant
43:42theme was
43:43mass production,
43:44that you have
43:46to bring down
43:46the unit cost
43:48of production,
43:48the marginal
43:49cost of production
43:49to next to
43:50nothing.
43:51Now,
43:52the tastes
43:53have changed.
43:54Every single
43:55product people
43:56want to be
43:57different from.
43:58Nobody wants
43:59to use a product
44:00which the other
44:01person is using.
44:02In today's
44:03digital world,
44:04you can actually
44:04create a prototype
44:05in digital world
44:06in no time
44:07and you can kill
44:07a product in no time.
44:09So,
44:09that's also
44:11creativity.
44:12On Amazon,
44:13you can today
44:14launch a shirt
44:15which is digital.
44:16If people like it,
44:17like it.
44:18otherwise you
44:18can kill that
44:19product without
44:19doing any
44:20manufacturing of
44:21this.
44:22So,
44:22there is a
44:23creator economy
44:24and designer's
44:25economy in
44:26manufacturing because
44:27of today's world.
44:29We all have seen
44:30that in metaverse,
44:31people are talking
44:32about that you
44:33can have your
44:34apparels and
44:36your manufacturing
44:37plants.
44:38So,
44:38even the
44:39manufacturing world
44:40today that it
44:41will be created
44:42is far more
44:43different than
44:43what it was
44:44three decades ago.
44:46Let's paint the
44:46picture of the
44:48emerging manufacturing
44:49ecosystem which
44:50focuses on N
44:51is equal to 1.
44:52Every car
44:53produced out of
44:54the factory should
44:56be customized to
44:57the customer who
44:58wants to buy it.
44:59Unlike Mr.
45:00Ford who said
45:01that I can
45:02provide you car of
45:04any color as long
45:05as it is black.
45:06So,
45:06Model T when he
45:07introduced in the
45:08world,
45:09we have definitely
45:10moved out of that.
45:11And that's where
45:12the shop floors
45:14will become
45:14interesting places
45:15and lots of
45:17people will have
45:17love for this.
45:18That sheer power
45:20of production
45:21coming out of
45:21their factories,
45:22that's also
45:23creativity.
45:24We should not
45:24create distinction.
45:26All right.
45:27Mr. Thibari,
45:28one more important
45:28question related
45:30to the culture
45:31that India has.
45:32India is a land
45:33of government
45:34jobs.
45:35Everyone in
45:36smaller towns,
45:37even in larger
45:38cities,
45:39the safest job is
45:40considered to be a
45:41government job.
45:41parents force
45:43their kids
45:43into coaching
45:45and just thinking
45:46that government
45:47job is everything
45:48in life.
45:49And we have
45:49seen its impact
45:51because a large
45:52number of people
45:53prepare for government
45:53jobs till the age
45:54of 32.
45:55Some state level
45:56jobs are allowed
45:57even till the age
45:58of 40.
45:59Is the government
45:59trying to create
46:01a culture actively
46:02where people just
46:04do not look at
46:04government job as
46:05the last option
46:06or the most
46:06respectable option,
46:08as a respectable
46:08choice for career?
46:09See, when I joined
46:11railways, during my
46:12probation period,
46:13I was regretting
46:14that why did I
46:15join a government
46:16job?
46:16Because private
46:17sector was opening
46:18up big time
46:19and the salary
46:21levels that were
46:22being offered
46:22in the private
46:23sector, I was
46:25just thinking that
46:26why this
46:27liberalization had
46:27to happen when
46:28I was entering
46:29into this?
46:30Could it not have
46:31happened five years
46:31ago?
46:32These are phases.
46:33The problem is
46:35that entry-level
46:36salaries are high
46:38in government.
46:39as compared to
46:40private sector.
46:41Recently, Mr.
46:42Mukesh Ambani
46:42also said that
46:43India does not
46:43have a job
46:44problem.
46:45It has a wage
46:45problem.
46:46So, I think we
46:49have entered into
46:50that stage of
46:52our society where
46:53people want to
46:54do decent jobs.
46:56They want decent
46:57earnings because
46:58livelihood question
47:00is not relevant
47:02today because of
47:03the lot of work
47:04that the
47:05governments have
47:05done on the
47:06welfare side.
47:06people are more
47:07or less, we
47:09have taken people
47:10out of the
47:10poverty and
47:11things like that.
47:12Somewhere, our
47:13private sector has
47:14not been able to
47:15realize the
47:16productivity gains
47:17which they can
47:18translate into a
47:19higher wages for
47:20the workers in
47:22their workforce.
47:23Part of this is
47:24also because of
47:25the labor laws
47:26that we have in
47:27this country and
47:27because of that
47:2890% of our
47:30workforce is in
47:30the informal
47:31sector.
47:31So, pick up
47:33any large
47:34company, 90%
47:36of their
47:36workforce is out
47:37of their
47:38payroll.
47:38So, they will
47:39offer good
47:40salaries to
47:40people who are
47:41on their
47:41payroll.
47:42They will not
47:42offer good
47:43salaries to
47:43people who are
47:44not on the
47:44payroll.
47:45It's a question
47:46of productivity
47:46growth and we
47:49have to focus.
47:50The skilling
47:50does not have to
47:51become some
47:52sort of your
47:54passport to a
47:55minimum wages
47:56job.
47:56It has to
47:57become a
47:58passport for
47:59getting a
48:00premium on
48:01what you can
48:03bring to the
48:03work.
48:04And that is
48:05why the focus
48:06until now has
48:07been on people
48:09are they job
48:10ready.
48:10Focus has to
48:11shift.
48:12Are they the
48:13most productive
48:13individuals?
48:15And the
48:16moment this
48:16productivity
48:17signals start
48:17happening, I
48:18also believe that
48:19time is just
48:20coming because
48:21the country was
48:22having such a
48:23massive infrastructure
48:24deficit that
48:25even if you
48:26bring the best
48:27of the skilled
48:28people at the
48:29workplace, because
48:30of the
48:31infrastructural
48:31deficit, they
48:32will not get
48:32the material on
48:33time and you
48:34will not be able
48:35to see the
48:35productivity
48:35growth.
48:36Lots of
48:37things are
48:37falling in
48:37place.
48:38We have
48:38built a lot
48:39of infrastructure.
48:40Infrastructure is
48:41coming at a
48:41fast pace.
48:42We have a
48:43digital ecosystem.
48:44We are getting
48:45more people
48:47spend more time
48:48into education
48:48system.
48:49If you just
48:50compare how
48:50many years on
48:52an average an
48:52Indian has
48:53spent into an
48:53education system
48:54versus how
48:55many years they
48:56spend in China
48:57and other parts of
48:58the world, all
48:58these factors are
48:59improving.
49:00And that is why
49:01I believe that
49:02it's all about
49:03productivity growth.
49:04We have to
49:05launch a
49:06productivity movement
49:07in the country
49:08rather than
49:08skilling movement.
49:09Skilling is a
49:10means to an
49:11end and not
49:12an end in
49:13itself.
49:13So productivity
49:14growth will be
49:16answer to this
49:16that private
49:18sector should
49:18offer better
49:20salary and
49:20perk than the
49:21government sector
49:22offers.
49:22For example,
49:25just two days
49:25ago we were
49:26at the
49:26finance minister's
49:28dinner party
49:28where we were
49:29just talking to
49:30the government
49:31officials.
49:32All the
49:33journalists were
49:34asking the
49:34same question
49:35that now the
49:35new pay
49:36commission is
49:36coming and
49:37the centre's
49:37pay commission.
49:38It will once
49:39again give a
49:40push to the
49:40lower end salaries
49:41and the private
49:42sector will also
49:43be forced which
49:44will introduce
49:45inflation into
49:46the Indian
49:47economy.
49:47It will be
49:47taken care of
49:48eventually.
49:49But the fact
49:50of the matter
49:50is that the
49:52private sector
49:52instead of
49:53focusing on
49:55investing in
49:55productivity,
49:56they are
49:56actually forced
49:57to increase
49:58the salary
49:59levels just
50:00because government
50:00after every
50:01few years,
50:02every decade,
50:03they come up
50:03with the pay
50:04commission which
50:05is over and
50:06above the
50:06DA that is
50:08given to
50:08government
50:09employees every
50:09year.
50:10So on an
50:11average, if you
50:11just look at
50:12the private
50:12sector, an
50:13average employee
50:13gets just
50:15inflation plus
50:16salary hike
50:17every year.
50:17So that is
50:18something which
50:18is available to
50:19government
50:19employees anyway.
50:21And above
50:21that, you
50:22know, the
50:22wages go up
50:23every 10
50:24years.
50:24So how do
50:25you expect
50:26the private
50:27sector to
50:27deal with
50:28this kind
50:28of inflationary
50:30wage increase?
50:31If you see
50:32government is
50:32only a small
50:33proportion of
50:34the workforce.
50:35It sets
50:35standards,
50:36expectations in
50:37the economy.
50:38Not really
50:38because people
50:39know that how
50:40many people
50:41government can
50:42absorb.
50:43Every business
50:43person knows.
50:44I have worked
50:44in the private
50:45sector.
50:46I left
50:46government.
50:47I took
50:48voluntary
50:48retirement
50:48because the
50:49private sector
50:51salary was
50:51far more
50:51attractive than
50:52the government
50:52salary.
50:53So it's a
50:54question of
50:54that today
50:55private sector
50:56offers very
50:57attractive pay
50:58packages for
50:59certain level
51:00of workers.
51:02It's not so
51:02in the case of
51:03others.
51:03And there,
51:04the wage code
51:05which has
51:06provision for
51:07four levels of
51:08skill.
51:09Unskilled,
51:10semi-skilled,
51:11skilled and
51:12highly skilled.
51:12until now,
51:14all this
51:14conversation is
51:15about that
51:16a worker is
51:17a commodity.
51:18You cannot
51:19expect a
51:20differentiated
51:21outcome from
51:21any worker.
51:22As long as
51:23the conversation
51:24is about
51:25that the
51:26work hours
51:28are a commodity,
51:29you will not
51:29be able to
51:31place PMO on
51:32that and this
51:32whole debate
51:32about whether
51:33inflation is
51:34right or
51:34wrong,
51:35inflation
51:35compensation
51:36is right or
51:36wrong.
51:37Now, if
51:38there is a
51:39method to
51:40signal that
51:41there are
51:42levels of
51:43skills,
51:44so a
51:45skilled person
51:46should be
51:46able to
51:47upskill
51:48themselves to
51:48highly skilled
51:49and if
51:50their market
51:51is able to
51:52translate that
51:53into a
51:53productivity,
51:54they will
51:55definitely pay
51:56premium on
51:56that.
51:57That will
51:58create incentive
51:58for people to
51:59upskill themselves
52:00and that's
52:01where the
52:01virtuous cycle
52:02will emerge.
52:03So, I will
52:04continue to
52:05talk about
52:05that the
52:05productivity
52:06growth is
52:07the only way
52:07out of this
52:08problem.
52:08Unless we
52:09are able to
52:10signal to
52:11the labor
52:12market that
52:13highly skilled
52:15workers is
52:16far more
52:17productive than
52:17the semi-skilled
52:19or unskilled
52:20worker, that
52:21we will not
52:22be able to
52:22solve this
52:23problem.
52:23So, since
52:24we are
52:24discussing
52:24productivity,
52:25while we
52:26understand that
52:26productivity is
52:27a matter of
52:28the skill set
52:29of an
52:29employee, but
52:30it is also
52:31a result of
52:32a company's
52:33ability to
52:34invest in
52:35its employees,
52:36what we have
52:36seen like in
52:37China or
52:38all those
52:39countries where
52:40they have
52:40been ahead in
52:41terms of
52:42manufacturing and
52:42now in the
52:43era of AI
52:44also, companies
52:45are investing a
52:46lot on R&D.
52:48I will give
52:48you an example.
52:49If you just
52:50go to China,
52:51because my
52:52father used to
52:52work in
52:53the government
52:53manufacturing
52:54sector, now
52:55my cousin is
52:56also part of
52:56that.
52:57He made a
52:58visit to China
52:58a few years
52:59ago.
52:59He said he
53:00was completely
53:00overwhelmed by
53:01looking at the
53:02factories of
53:03China.
53:03He was like
53:03that Neeraj.
53:05In China, a
53:06person working
53:07on government
53:07manufacturing, he
53:08doesn't have to
53:09sit throughout
53:09the day.
53:11His workstation
53:12is such that
53:13if he feels
53:13tired after
53:14sitting for
53:15one and a
53:16half hours, he
53:16can just stand
53:17up on his
53:18workstation and
53:19the level of
53:20the machine also
53:21goes up and
53:21he can just
53:22stand and the
53:22chairs are
53:23ergonomic and
53:24everything.
53:24He said, but
53:24we are not in
53:26a position to
53:26provide this
53:27kind of
53:27infrastructure to
53:28their workers.
53:29That is why
53:29the number of
53:30garments worked
53:32upon by an
53:33Indian worker is
53:34far less than
53:34what it is in
53:35China.
53:37Where do you
53:38think?
53:39Because Indian
53:40companies somehow,
53:41my cousin runs a
53:43very small
53:43manufacturing unit,
53:45but even larger
53:46companies do not
53:47invest this kind
53:48of capital in
53:49improving the
53:50productivity of
53:51their workers.
53:52I think it is a
53:52question of not
53:53improving the
53:54productivity of
53:55the workers, it
53:56is a question of
53:56capital.
53:58The way we do
53:59highway construction,
54:00I will just take
54:01an example of
54:01highway construction
54:02or railway
54:03construction, 60
54:04to 70% of the
54:05value that is
54:07created through a
54:08manual way of
54:09working.
54:09Go to western
54:11part of the
54:11world, you have
54:12highly mechanized
54:13construction system.
54:15Very few workers,
54:16but they are
54:17skilled to operate
54:18those high-end
54:19machines.
54:20So when I talk
54:21about skill and
54:23highly skilled
54:23worker, I actually
54:25talk about this,
54:26that if we want
54:28to move to a
54:29productivity growth
54:30that we are
54:31talking about,
54:32we have to
54:33bring the
54:34machines that
54:35the world
54:36deploys and
54:37then you have
54:37to have the
54:38people who can
54:39operate those
54:40machines and
54:41that's how the
54:41skill comes into
54:42picture.
54:42And until now,
54:44there are certain
54:45industries where
54:46there will be
54:46always a question
54:47of labor
54:47arbitrage.
54:48I invest X
54:49million dollars
54:50into machine or
54:52I deploy, I
54:53throw more people
54:54at the job where
54:55the arbitrage lies
54:56and the market is
54:57the best determined
54:58that even if I
54:58don't invest into
54:59a garment factory
55:00automation and I
55:01still I'm able to
55:02sell to a customer
55:03in US, I will
55:04continue to avoid
55:05that investment
55:06to happen.
55:08But many areas
55:09like manufacturing
55:10that we are seeing
55:11today, Indian
55:12entrepreneurs are
55:14investing in the
55:15world-beating
55:15technologies.
55:16Today, the
55:17technology and
55:18capital is no
55:19more differentiator.
55:20We have the
55:21capital available
55:22at practically
55:23competitive cost
55:24anywhere in the
55:25world.
55:25The technology
55:26which is available
55:27to any part of
55:27the world, it is
55:28available in India.
55:29We don't have
55:30enough number of
55:31people who can
55:32operate those
55:33machines and can
55:34do a mechanized
55:36construction.
55:38And that's what I
55:39talk about in terms
55:40of productivity.
55:41It's a combination
55:42of having right
55:44infrastructure through
55:45which you can move
55:46these heavy equipment
55:47and things like
55:47that.
55:48It's a question of
55:49investing into right
55:50equipment and
55:52machinery and plant
55:53and then having
55:54people who are
55:56able to operate
55:58those equipment.
55:59So, productivity
56:00is not a factor
56:01of only that
56:03you use Taylor's
56:05method and make
56:06a person do a
56:07task thousand
56:08times the same
56:09way and you can
56:10increase the
56:11productivity.
56:11Productivity is a
56:12function of these
56:13factors and that's
56:15where the whole
56:16paradigm of the
56:17productivity lies.
56:18All right, sir.
56:19Thank you very much
56:20for coming to our
56:20show.
56:21It was a lovely
56:22discussion.
56:22understanding from
56:24you where India
56:25stands in terms of
56:27skilling its youth.
56:29We are living in a
56:30very interesting age
56:31where AI is taking
56:32over and we
56:34really hope that
56:35your organization is
56:36able to help Indian
56:37youth equip
56:38themselves with the
56:40skills that are
56:40required to survive
56:41and flourish in the
56:42age of AI.
56:43Thank you very much.
56:44Thank you so much,
56:45Neeraj and I also
56:46enjoyed this
56:46conversation and I
56:47just want to tell a
56:49few things that
56:49alone we can't
56:51do anything.
56:52it's a great
56:53ecosystem of
56:54partners that
56:54NSDC works with
56:55and that's what
56:57we are a platform.
56:59We bring our
57:00partners to the
57:01world.
57:02They do lots of
57:04work for us and
57:06I request the
57:08startup ecosystem
57:09and innovators that
57:11there is a massive
57:12opportunity as we
57:13are entering into a
57:14knowledge economy or
57:15intelligence era.
57:16There is a massive
57:17opportunity that you
57:18can participate in
57:19this revolution.
57:21The ad techs have to
57:23think of themselves
57:24very differently so I
57:25request them.
57:26And last but not
57:27the least I will
57:28request the youth of
57:29our country and
57:30their parents that
57:32look at the world
57:33from the lens of
57:34opportunities and
57:36our next generation
57:38is going to be
57:38living in a world
57:40which is far better
57:40than we have lived.
57:42With this high note
57:44and the note of
57:45optimism I live
57:46every single day.
57:47Thank you very much
57:48Mr. Tiwari.