PM'S ADDRESS AT THE ASIAN SUMMIT
ON YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP & EMPLOYMENT
The following is
the text of the address of the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee at the Asian Summit on Youth Entrepreneurship & Employment
here today:
"I am pleased
to be with all of you this afternoon.
First of all, I would
like to thank His Royal Highness Prince of Wales for his gracious
presence. Over the years, he has lent his considerable personal
stature to promote several worthy social causes worldwide. Conservation
of architectural heritage is one of them. Innovative ways of supporting
disadvantaged young people to better their lives through entrepreneurship
and self-employment is another. Your Royal Highness, you truly
represent an enlightened royalty alive to the concerns of the
modern world.
I would like to congratulate
the Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust and all other associate organizations
for organizing this conference on employment and entrepreneurship
among the youth. The subject of unemployment is important not
only for India but for the entire world, not only for underdeveloped
and developing countries but also for all the developed economies.
The facts and figures
on unemployment are truly staggering. Eradication of unemployment
in general, but especially youth unemployment, has become the
biggest developmental challenge in almost every country in the
world.
This shows that there
is a serious failing and inadequacy in our economic systems.
The fundamental purpose
of any economy is to meet human needs through the agency of human
labour. It means that every able-bodied man and woman in the working
age should get work. This is as axiomatic as saying that every
child in the school-going age should get school education.
Sadly, what is obvious
has not yet become achievable.
Employment is not
merely a means of livelihood for young people. It is also the
enabler of discovery, self-discovery and self-development. Youth
is the age when life is most creative and joyful. It is the age
when idealism blooms and social consciousness is sharpened. It
is when young people begin to dream, and learn to struggle to
realize their dreams.
But all this is possible
only if the minds and hands of young people are employed in gainful
work. Thus, a large part of human resources in the world is lying
idle due to large-scale unemployment – unable to contribute to
society and unable to achieve self-growth.
Friends,
the economic systems in the world today exhibit two stark paradoxes.
On the one side, there is so much work waiting to be done, so
many needs to be met, in our societies – schools to be repaired,
streets to be cleaned, wasteland to be greened, the homeless to
be sheltered, the aged to be taken care of, and so on. There are
also so many hands that can do these works. Yet, our economies
and institutions do not seem to connect human needs and human
labour to an adequate extent.
The second paradox
is this. The more capital-intensive a production unit becomes,
the less employment it generates. Yet, our institutions, our credit
agencies, and our technology-dissemination mechanisms are generally
more geared to serving their needs, rather than the needs of small
and medium enterprises whose employment generation potential is
much higher.
How do we address
these two paradoxes? There are no simple answers.
But one thing is
obvious. Both globally and locally, we have to re-orient our economic
thinking, planning and implementation to achieve the goal of full
employment everywhere. We should be prepared to reform anything
that needs to be reformed to achieve this central goal – be it
the global financial architecture, the world trade regime, or
the growth-obstructing laws and institutions at national and local
levels.
Another thing is
also obvious. In developing countries, including in India, the
mindset of young people wanting government jobs has to change.
In the era of reforms, the role of the government has changed.
Rather than being directly engaged in running enterprises, the
Government has to facilitate the spirit of enterprise among the
people to grow.
I have noticed that
the old mindset is indeed changing. Our young people are beginning
to realize that the solution to the problem of unemployment lies
mainly in entrepreneurship and self-employment.
India offers a vast
scope for this, especially in the services sector, both in urban
and rural areas. Often, these small enterprises and self-employment
initiatives spring up on their own. But with a little help from
governmental institutions and credit agencies, with a little formal
training in entrepreneurship, with better market information,
and infusion of appropriate technological inputs, these very initiatives
can turn into profitable ventures. And they can create a lot of
employment opportunities in a decentralized, localized manner.
This is where the
responsibility of the government lies. I believe that we can achieve
better and faster results through a convergent functioning of
various government departments, agencies, banks, financial institutions
and educational institutions. This is best seen in the success
of well-managed Women’s Self-Help Groups in different parts of
our country.
We need to create
a proper awareness among the youth about the various employment
and self-employment schemes of the government. And we have so
many of them. If young entrepreneurs and self-employed persons
face any problems, it is the duty of concerned government officers
and bank managers to quickly attend to these problems. Often,
start-up businesses of small entrepreneurs fail and fold up because
of lack of support and guidance. It should be our endeavour to
de-risk these initiatives as much as possible.
There is also a big
scope for private sector investment in mentoring and fostering
small enterprises in the informal sector through appropriate linkages.
NGOs and producers’ cooperatives can provide these linkages.
In all these efforts,
no single country has gained all the necessary experience in doing
it the right way. There is a lot of useful worldwide experience
and knowledge that countries need to share with one another. I
suggest that the Planning Commission, together with the many organizations
that have organized this conference, take up documentation of
the best practices and success stories in the informal sector
worldwide. This information should then be widely disseminated.
Friends, as
you all know, our Government has taken many steps to create supportive
infrastructure, schemes and policies to speed up India’s economic
development and to meet the aspirations of our young people.
For example, we are
making massive investments in improving road connectivity – both
highways and rural roads. Telecom connectivity is expanding by
leaps and bounds. This connectivity revolution is helping thousands
of new entrepreneurs to set up businesses.
An altogether new
area where both entrepreneurship and employment opportunities
are showing spectacular growth is IT and IT-enabled services.
Technological advances and compulsions of cost-reduction are making
more and more companies, offices and utilities in the West to
outsource their services to India.
In this context,
a recent report in a reputed British daily, which has been reproduced
in The Hindustan Times today, describes the new phenomenon
of outsourcing in a rather dramatic manner. It says that the jobs
that Britain took away from India two hundred years ago are now
being returned!
Of course, there
is a difference between then and now. Then it was a win-lose phenomenon.
Now it is a win-win game for both Britain and India. Your Royal
Highness, I hope you agree with me.
Change in India is
visible not only in a high-visibility sector like IT-enabled services.
Entrepreneurship, employment and self- employment are also growing
in India’s rural and semi-urban economy. Here I would like to
congratulate the Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
for its success in running the Rural Employment Generation Programme.
I am told that under this programme, over 1.5 lakh small-scale
production units have been set up by rural entrepreneurs. They
are part-financed by banks and partly through the government’s
budgetary support. REGP has created sustainable employment – not
daily wage employment – for nearly 18 lakh people in the past
five years. We want to take this number to 40 lakh in the next
five years. Adequate funds will be provided for this.
The chairman of KVIC
has written to me seeking a reduction in interest rates to rural
entrepreneurs under REGP. This will be considered.
Our Government is
working towards the goal of creating ten million employment and
self-employment opportunities each year. The S.P. Gupta Committee,
set up by the Planning Commission, has prepared a useful report
on how to achieve this goal. I would like the concerned ministries
and departments to implement this employment strategy with utmost
seriousness. State Governments should also fully contribute to
its successful implementation.
However, this strategy
cannot succeed through governmental action alone. The private
sector, banks and financial institutions, Panchayati Raj Institutions,
NGOs, trade unions, and all other sections of society will have
to work closely with the Union and State governments. Together,
we have to take up "Eradication of Unemployment" as
a mission. In carrying out this mission, we have to learn from
others around the world and also share our positive experience
with them.
My congratulations
to all the award winners. And my best wishes for the Asian Summit
on Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment.
Thank you."