The ‘mission mode’ approach has helped the government face economic challenges and put the economy on a faster growth track, said a Finance Ministry report on Monday.

The report, ‘Indian Economy-A Review’, said though the economy did well between 2014-15 and 2023-24, it was accompanied by challenges both at the domestic and global level. It also listed four key challenges – geopolitical situations, trade-off between energy security and economic growth versus energy transition, advent of Artificial Intelligence, and domestic availability of skilled workforce.

“Increased geo-economic fragmentation and the slowdown of hyper-globalisation are likely to result in further friend-shoring and onshoring, which have had repercussions on global trade and, subsequently, on global growth,” said the report, while talking about the first challenge. Terming the second one as a multi-faceted issue, the report said it has various dimensions — geopolitical, technological, fiscal, economic and social, and the policy actions being pursued by individual countries impacting other economies.

The report took cues from an IMF paper which has estimated that 40 per cent of global employment is exposed to AI, with the benefit of complementarities operating besides risk of displacement. The fourth challenge is ensuring the availability of a talented and appropriately skilled workforce, age-appropriate learning outcomes in schools, and a healthy and fit population.

The report said these challenges are not insurmountable. “These issues are very much part of the government’s policy thrust,” it said. For example, under the the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), around 1.3 crore candidates received training, of which around 24 lakh were placed. Similarly, focussed efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change have resulted in renewable energy sources, including large hydropower, having a combined installed capacity of 179.57 GW as of November 2023.

Expansion of the Internet and greater enrolment under Aadhaar have facilitated transfer of over ₹34 lakh crore to more than 1,167 crore beneficiaries under Direct Benefit Transfer. With the CoWin app, India has implemented one of the world’s largest vaccination programmes, with 221 crore vaccination doses administered to the population aged 18 years and above. Up to July 2023, India launched 431 foreign satellites, of which 396 have been launched since June 2014.

“India’s ‘mission mode’ approach to getting the better of festering challenges, stands the country in good stead in meeting the current and emerging challenges,” said the report.

Through timely and effective policy actions aimed at achieving macro stability and repairing the balance sheets of the financial and non-financial sectors, as well as by investing significantly in building world-class physical and digital public infrastructure, India has withstood challenges, both domestic and global, and ensured that the economy continues to progress on a steady path, the report said.

With the policy reforms that the government has already rolled out and which are on the anvil, there is significant optimism and confidence in the Indian economy and its prospects today. “India embarks on her ‘Amrit Kaal’ with confidence and the attitude that challenges to growth and inclusive development are stepping stones and not obstacles,” it said.

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