NITI Aayog sets ball rolling for big push to services sector

New Delhi: The first meeting of NITI Aayog’s high-powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ Standing Committee has decided to identify actionable recommendations to enhance employability, foster entrepreneurship, strengthen industry-relevant skilling, and accelerate growth in the services sector, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to transform India’s demographic dividend into a growth dividend, enhance coordinated action among the Centre, states, industry, academia, and the skilling ecosystem, and develop future-ready policy responses for bridging the gap between education, employment, and entrepreneurship, the statement said.

The committee has been set up with the aim of helping India achieve a 10 per cent share of the global services market by 2047 as part of the government’s commitment to fulfil the aspirations of a youthful India. It will prioritise areas to optimise growth, employment, and exports, assess the impact of frontier technologies, including AI, on jobs and skill requirements, and recommend appropriate measures, it said.

NITI Aayog’s Programme Director, Services Division, Sonia Pant, made a detailed presentation on the potential of the services sector both in terms of economic value creation and employment generation.

NITI Aayog CEO Nidhi Chibber underlined the importance of continued efforts towards aligning education, skilling, and employment ecosystems with the evolving requirements of the economy. She observed that India’s demographic dividend presents opportunities to accelerate growth through appropriate policy measures to create productive employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for the youth.

The discussions covered a range of issues, including labour force participation, youth employment, education and skill alignment, the formal and informal economy, and workforce preparedness for jobs. Participants also deliberated on aspects such as the transition of labour towards non-farm sectors, the adoption of frontier technologies, and the need for strengthening industry-relevant skilling pathways.

The committee noted that the services sector continues to play a pivotal role in India’s economic development, and highlighted its growing contribution to economic resilience, export competitiveness, employment quality and global value chains.

The committee has been constituted under the chairpersonship of the CEO, NITI Aayog, with representatives from the ministries concerned, state governments, industry associations, and experts. It includes representation from Ministry of Labour and Employment, Department of Commerce, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Electronics & IT, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh, NASSCOM, FICCI, CII, FISME, SEPC, and other experts.

IANS