Reacting to a 2016 World Bank report titled “Digital Dividends” speculates that automation threatens 69 percent jobs in India. The government has said that job loss through automation in India should not be a matter of concern as the “growth momentum” of the economy will result in new job opportunities.
Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal also said that the report “inter alia also states that ‘even if technologically feasible, large-scale net job destruction due to automation should not be a concern for most developing countries in the short term’ ”.
Meghwal further added that even in medium to long term, growth of Indian economy of over seven percent and steps being taken to enhance the growth momentum will result in further creation of new job opportunities and absorption of replaced labour. He added that the government has taken various steps for generating employment like encouraging the private sector, fast tracking various projects involving substantial investment and increasing public expenditure on different schemes.
The World Bank in its annual World Development Report (WDR) had stated that greater efforts must be made to connect more people to the Internet and to create an environment that unleashes the benefits of digital technologies for everyone.