India needs to focus on generating skilled jobs, improving employment quality in short-term: EAC-PM chairman

12 Jan 2026 Evaluate

Charting India’s path to inclusive growth, S Mahendra Dev, chairman of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), has said that the country’s short-term goals include generating skilled jobs and improving employment quality. He admitted that the country was lagging in employment quality, which he asserted is one of the important components in achieving inclusive growth. He said ‘In the post COVID years, from 2022-23 to 2025-26, the average growth rate is 7.7 per cent and so we have recovered. India is resilient. We are pushing investments and exports despite all the constraints. The focus is on employment generation and skilled jobs. We are lagging behind in employment quality.’

He noted that 'Viksit Bharat 2047' does not just mean achieving growth but also inclusive growth. He highlighted that ‘Quality employment is one of the important components in achieving inclusive growth. We have issues in employment like gig workers, women's participation rates, creating employment for youth, technology including AI. Education, health, nutrition are also part of efforts in reducing inequalities. These are the areas where inclusion can be increased’.

About long-term goals, he said to achieve Viksit Bharat 2047 goal there are two drivers of growth, which include increasing investment rate and domestic savings, and promoting exports. He also pointed towards diversifying exports, GST, income tax reforms and labour codes, as well as quality control orders and inclusion of the private sector in nuclear power. He said many countries achieved structural transformation through manufacturing and services, and noted that India still requires strong manufacturing growth to generate labour-intensive employment. 

He rejected the notion of choosing between manufacturing and services, calling the two sectors complementary rather than competing. Emphasising manufacturing's strong backward and forward linkages, he said it also drives growth in services, as modern manufacturing increasingly incorporates service components such as AI. He said for sustained expansion of the service sector, a robust manufacturing base is required. He noted ‘what we want to achieve by 2047 is not unique. India has progressed on many fronts. The task is now to move towards a society and economy that is not only prosperous but also inclusive and pro-nature’.

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