By 2050, India is expected to become the second
economic power after China leaves the US behind. This is stated in a report of
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). To achieve this, India has to sustain, improve and consolidate its economic muscle in the states that have made steady
progress in the last few decades.
At the same time the east and northeast in particular, which are blessed with huge reserves of natural
resources have to leverage the same and catch up with
the rest of India. It is time that they speed up their
economic transformation agenda and joins the elite
league of states/regions in contributing to India's prosperity.
North East is poised to play an important role in
the economic front in the next 25-30 years. Blessed
with natural resources, scenic valleys, wildlife, forest,
agriculture, and tourism it is the opportune moment for
the region to tap into these more meaningfully in creating economic prosperity for the states and the people
at large.
It will be interesting to know that the Eastern region
comprises of approximately 27% of the population of
our country and had contributed to about 17% of GDP
as of 2018.
The North Eastern Region (NER) comprising of seven states can possibly redefine the economic
landscape of the region by increasing their share of
GDP and leading to the generation of direct and indirect employment.
We need to take a cue from the fact that countries
with a high repository of skills aligned with their core
areas of economic opportunities have always been able
to optimize value. India in general and the NER, in particular, are witnessing a severe shortage of trained
workforce on one hand and non-employability of
graduates on the other hand. The recent steps taken
by the
National Education Policy (NEP) and the UGC
in bringing about the concept of multidisciplinary education and dual degree is the right step in course correcting the past. However, the need of the hour is now
revolving towards developing a sustainable skill ecosystem with a clear roadmap for a productive workforce
equipped with the skills of the moment. Besides the
traditional skills in handloom, agriculture etc (serving
the ongoing need for the MSMEs) there lies other opportunities in job creation in other sectors like tourism, food processing and logistics.
While there has been growth in tourism, agriculture and food processing there exists significant opportunities to leapfrog with appropriate policy direction and strategic investments for exponential growth
in these areas.
Tourism can be broadly segmented into three parts
mainly - religious tourism, scenic and Himalayan tourism and lastly forest, wildlife and tea tourism. To promote and attract both domestic and international visitors all the seven states have to develop the right infrastructure and facilities. It is likely that those who are
keen to visit NE budget between 7 to 15 days stay to
either cover a specific place or the entire region.
On the agriculture and food processing front NE is
famous for high quality pineapples, exotic rice
breeds, betel nuts besides other traditional
agricultural produce. Most of these
perishable products can be processed and marketed across the
length and breadth of our country and even overseas. Processed
food besides adding economic
value will not only enhance the
longevity of the product but will
also reduce the complexities of
damages, wastage and enable
weight reduction for easy and
cost efficient transportation. The
region in this regard has to significantly augment cold storage
facilities which are a critical
infrastructural support in this
space.
It is therefore imperative for the seven states
of the region to put in
place a policy direction and robust process enabling strategic investments
in tourism, agriculture and
food processing
and finally in
developing
the
much-needed
infrastructure facilities including enhancing the capacities of the existing airports, chopper services, constructing high end hotel
and highways. Connectivity and logistics will be paramount and could be the game changer in the employment front.These initiatives will not only enhance their
contribution of GDP to the country but will leapfrog
in generating direct and indirect employment. However to seize this opportunity and more importantly
sustain the momentum there will be a need to develop high quality manpower feeders generating
skilled and managerial workforce for the expected economic boom. Being in an era of digital enabled world,
future skills will have to embrace digital literacy and
therefore developing vocational hubs in every district will have to be given topmost priority
Other emerging jobs amongst others that are in the
horizon will be in the AI enabled problem solving space
like natural disaster predictors (Tsunami / earthquake
etc.), digital currency experts, drone traffic controllers
and in the augmented virtual reality applications. Another emerging employment generator shall be
in the blue economy space - underwater ex-ploration, which is largely untapped will be
another game changer in the next decade.
As per the Department of Economic and
Social Affairs of the United Nations
the estimated turnover in the ocean
could be between US$ 3 and trillion.
Innovation and disruptions
across sectors as we all are witnessing are leading to skill obsolescence. Many of the present skills
will outlive its purpose - for example the most affected
professions revolve
around jobs that are
repetitive in nature,
travel industry,
book stores and
banking. With
E-commerce having established
itself there has been
significant reduction
in the traditional
workforce, however the good
news is that it
is also a reality that new
age innovations
are generating more
jobs that
what is being
rendered obsolete. With the
never-ending
spate of economic disruptions, the single biggest challenge will be to prolong employability. Institutions will
therefore have to play an impacting role on this front. Inculcating grit, determination and mental strength in shaping the workforce of the future are pressing imperatives
now and going forward. The ability to learn, unlearn and
relearn will be a critical aspect for the present and future
workforce.
The aspiring workforce has to accept the emerging
reality that institutions are preparing them for jobs and
skills that are unknown as innovations will be an ongoing process necessitating this shift. Resilience, agility,
adaptability coupled with a strong mindset and will power
will be the most critical success factors for long term
employability.