New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) India has remained the fastest-growing major economy, averaging over 7 per cent GDP growth between 2014 and 2025 (excluding the Covid years) and in a global environment marked by protectionism, sustaining 7–8 per cent growth requires a sharp focus on domestic growth drivers, the Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

“To this end, the Government remains committed to a strategy centred on deregulation, infrastructure investment and MSME development; enhancing female labour force participation; skilling the workforce to harness the demographic dividend; and accelerating digitalisation to boost financial inclusion and formalisation,” Minister of State for Statistics & Programme Implementation, Rao Inderjit Singh, said in the Rajya Sabha.

These efforts — reinforced by Centre–State coordination and institutional strengthening — are designed to unlock productivity, attract private investment, and drive inclusive, innovation-led, and resilient growth, he said.

The government has adopted a range of strategies to mitigate potential risks and leverage emerging opportunities, with a focus on strengthening domestic capacities, promoting exports, diversifying supply chains, exploring alternative import sources, and enhancing overall economic resilience, he explained.

The minister pointed out that India’s demographic dividend, driven by a growing working-age population, presents a crucial opportunity to boost GDP growth. The working age population is projected to rise from 735 million in 2011 to 988.5 million in 2036. The current working age population is 64.2 per cent, and for the next 10 years, the favourable demographics will remain approximately at 65 per cent.

To harness its demographic dividend, the government is strengthening education, healthcare and skill development, while prioritising employment generation in labour-intensive sectors and increasing women’s workforce participation. Programmes like Mission Shakti, Namo Drone Didi, and Lakhpati Didi aim to enhance women’s economic empowerment. Complementing these efforts, the Make in India initiative seeks to revitalise manufacturing, generate large-scale employment, especially for semi-skilled and unskilled workers, the minister said.

These key initiatives and policy measures include the Foreign Trade Policy, effective from April 1, 2023, and are designed to integrate India more effectively into the global market, improve trade competitiveness, and establish the country as a reliable and trusted trade partner.

Various tax incentives to promote labour-intensive exports, such as textiles, have also been undertaken. For the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products, there is a budget allocation of Rs 18,232.50 crore for FY 2025-26, the minister pointed out.

The District Export Hubs initiative had also been launched by identifying products with export potential in each district, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products and supporting local exporters/manufacturers to generate employment in the district, the minister added.

–IANS

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