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Tech, innovation to help boost jobs; focus on re-skilling: Scindia
Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated that new technology creates more job opportunities than disruptions, emphasizing re-skilling and India's economic resilience.
The net impact of new technology and innovation on employment is the creation of more opportunities than the job disruptions they may cause, Union minister for communications and development of the northeastern region Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Sunday, adding that the government will address the issue of redundancy through re-skilling initiatives.
“I think that’s the dual strategy that the government is following. One, to open up the environment for these new employment opportunities to be harvested, and the other, to be able to re-skill people and redeploy them into the workforce,” Scindia said at the fourth Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC) in New Delhi.
Emphasising the theme, “Seeking Prosperity in Turbulent Times” at the conclave, the minister reflected on India’s resilient journey through global turbulence under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turned crises into catalysts, uncertainties into opportunities, and vision into velocity.
Recollecting the recent global supply chain disruptions and shortage of microchip that threatened multibillion-dollar businesses across the world, he said “for India, it was not a moment of despair” but “a moment of decision”.
Citing Indian philosopher Chanakya’s maxim — Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions. First, why am I doing it? Second, what’s the results be? And third, will I succeed? — he said: “India, ladies and gentlemen, answered all of those three questions in that period of turbulence.”
“The question is, why? Because semiconductors are not luxury. They are the foundation, and the very fabric of future progress for mankind. The question as to what the results will be? The result would be the creation of a self-reliant, ‘aatmanirbhar’ nation, securing its future and the globes’ future. And third, will we succeed? And that answer is backed by India’s own semiconductor mission, with a capital outlay of close to ₹ 76,000 crore, setting up fabs across states from Gujarat to… my Assam in the Northeast,” he said.
He said India converted the challenge into an opportunity and skilled close to 85,000 people across the country in this new art. In a period of only four years, we have invested over ₹1.6 lakh crores in this sector alone,” he added.
“And, therefore, these digital diamonds, India is determined to mine. Not by chance, but by choice, with foresight, with ‘swadeshi’ confidence, and most importantly, with the guiding clarity that Chanakya gave centuries ago,” he said.
The lesson that we have learned today is that turbulence is not an aberration in history, he said. “Turbulence today has become a rhythm. It disrupts, it lurches, it tests the resilience of nations, and over the last five years, global geopolitical turbulence has probably been at its all-time height,” he said, citing issues faced by the world such as energy security, trade barriers, climate shocks and inflation.
Citing Austrian political economist Joseph Schumpeter, he said the prosperity “in this era of compounded turbulence” lies in “creative destruction” where old systems collapse and innovation creates something even stronger. Scindia said turbulence has acted as a catalyst for India as the country’s economy is growing at 7.8% in the first quarter of 2025-26. India is the fastest growing major economy of the world.
According to the minister, India emerged as a constructive global force in the era of turbulence. “India has acted as a catalyst. When geopolitically, she has emerged as a fulcrum for the Global South. India is the voice of fairness today. India is the voice of equity. And even as the old blocs fracture, India is sought out as a bridge between the East and the West, as a bridge between the North and the South. India is sought out as a guide from the present turbulence to the future direction that the world must take,” he said.
In this age of uncertainty, which has become the norm, India is not just another destination, he said. “India, ladies and gentlemen, is the direction. India is not only the voice. India is the mission. And for those who seek prosperity in turbulent times, I urge all of them to look, move, and invest in India,” he added.
The turbulence teaches us one fact, that dependence is fragility. And, therefore, resilience must be cultivated through self-reliance and foresight, he said, citing examples of progress in communications in India. With 1.22 billion mobile subscribers, with close to 944 million broadband subscribers (as compared to only 60 million 11 years ago), we have grown more than 15 times in the last decade, he said.
Scindia said the public sector BSNL’s indigenously developed 4G network will be upgraded to 5G in the next six-eight months even as India has entered into the club of 4G technology, which was earlier dominated by just five companies in the world -- Huawei, ZTE, Samsung, Nokia and Ericsson, based out of four countries -- Sweden, Finland, South Korea and China.
Giving details of rapid growth of telecommunication in India, which is empowering people through digital governance, he said the PM recently unveiled 92,564 towers that connect Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Bharuch to Arunachal Pradesh in India with indigenous domestic 4G standard. “But we are not going to rest. Within the next six to eight months, we will be switching these 4G towers to 5G networks and providing end-to-end 5G network capability across the length and breadth of India,” he said.
