India will emerge as global power despite challenges: D Purandeswari

VISAKHAPATNAM: Minister of State for Commerce and Industry D Purandeswari today said there was a need to usher in a new-age entrepreneurship to achieve sustainable growth based on robust economy.

"The country has experienced tremendous changes ever since the liberalisation programme started around 20 years ago. One has to accept enormity of challenges to see India emerging as economic power of the future", Purandeswari said.

She was speaking after inaugurating the 95th annual conference of the Indian Economic Association (IEA) at Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management University here.

"We need to place a lot more emphasis on growth of our country and the leadership at various levels," she said.

Purandeswari said improving quality of employment in terms of reasonable and rising level of wages and social security against the common risk of work and life, is the most important aspect of Development Plans. "Ensuring a regular and adequate supply of suitably skilled workforce is the matter of concern," she added.

The Minister pointed out that public sector has remained a "model employer" and has augmented its work force in the four decades.

"Employment growth emerged as an important concern in development planning around the middle of 1970s when it was realised that economic and demographic performance of the economy had fallen short of earlier expectations and as a result unemployment had been on the rise," she said.

Asserting that India would emerge as a big player on global scene in the future, the Minister said: "India is poised to reap the demographic dividend because the size of its working-age population which is set to increase to 95 crore or more".

Rajya Sabha MP B L Mungekar, who presided over the function, observed that Nehruvian model of economic planning and development was still relevant, even post liberalisation era.

Established in 1917, IEA is an oldest national-level association of professional economists in India. The body is the member of the International Economics Association.

Former UGC chairman Sukhdeo Thorat informed on the occasion that around 2,000 economists from across the country are participating in the three-day conference.