New Delhi, Mar 26 (KNN) The Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu has called for a faster and more inclusive growth with the focus on skill upgradation and promotion of innovative entrepreneurship to meet the demands of various sectors including agriculture.

He was addressing the 16th Convocation of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, established by the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai.

Speaking on the occasion, he said “We need to focus on skill upgradation and promote innovative entrepreneurship to meet the demands of various sectors, including agriculture. We must also promote self-employment, set up and empower more self-help groups and promote village and cottage industries.

The Vice President spoke about growth and development and highlighted the rapid economic progress and fiscal consolidation that India had undergone.

“We must identify areas and spheres where we have comparative advantage and push ahead’, he emphasized.
Naidu said that an emerging economy like India would constantly bring in new laws and regulations at par with international best practices.

He observed that tax reforms were slowly increasing India’s tax base and shifting the social norms from one where it was alright to avoid taxes to one where the majority is willing to pay.

The Vice President emphasized “The time has come for India to once again emerge as the global knowledge hub.”

He called upon the seats of learning, especially the universities, to reinvent themselves as hubs of vibrant intellectual pursuit with academic excellence and social relevance as the key touchstones of success.

The Vice President also opined that our system of education and skill-training needs to respond to the demands of industry and services sector.

He said that India has to reach out to other countries to access cost-effective technology, investment, and energy to manage its domestic challenges. He called for appropriate economic and foreign policies to navigate through this emerging and uncertain landscape.

Naidu urged scientists, technologists and engineers to keep abreast of the developments and absorb new technologies as they occur. He reasoned that this absorption is necessary for our progress in a fast integrating world. (KNN/YV)