PM Urges Investment in People, Innovation for Job Creation

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged all stakeholders to come together and invest in people for skill development, nurturing talent and promoting innovation which are essential for job creation and boosting the economy.

Participating in post-Budget webinar on employment, Modi said the government has provided skill training to 3 crore youth since 2014 and decided to upgrade 1,000 ITIs and set up five centres of excellence.

He stated that capacity building and talent nurturing act as a foundation stone for national development and in the next phase of growth, greater investment in these sectors is essential.

"The vision of 'investment in people' stands on three pillars -- education, healthcare, and skill development," he said adding that today, India's education system is undergoing a transformation.

All stakeholders must come forward, as they are key to the success of the Indian economy, he said.

The prime minister said India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world and the nation's GDP will soon reach USD 5 trillion level, up from USD 3.8 trillion currently.

"As per the IMF report, India's economy has grown by 66 per cent within a decade (2015-2025). India is currently a USD 3.8 trillion economy and is set to become a USD 5 trillion economy soon," he added.

He said the government has launched the PM Internship Scheme to provide new opportunities and practical skills to youth.

"We must ensure that businesses at every scale actively participate in this scheme. In this year's budget, we announced 10,000 additional medical seats, with a target of adding 75,000 seats in the medical field over the next 5 years," he said.

Modi also talked about the government's decision to give infrastructure status to the tourism sector, saying that it will generate jobs for youth.

He urged industry to invest in the health sector and also talked about the potential of medical tourism to create jobs.

"To cater to a larger population, planned urbanisation is essential. We have decided to allocate Rs 1 lakh crore to the Urban Challenge Fund. The private sector, especially the real estate industry, must focus on planned urbanisation," he said.

The government has given importance to skill development at par with the infrastructure sector, he added.

AI, he said could contribute lakhs of crores to the economy. "In this direction, we have allocated Rs 500 crore for AI-driven education and research in the budget."

He also stated that India will set up National Large Language Model for development of AI capacity.