Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said the resistance to change that existed in the past was “disappearing” and that the Indian economy was now more open to economic reforms than most other countries in the world.

Changing economy Speaking at the 33rd Annual Session of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) in the Capital, Jaitley said the nature of the Indian economy itself had changed and its future would be driven by ideas, knowledge and depth of innovation.

Asserting that ideas had contributed to the expansion of the Indian economy, the Finance Minister felt that the “bright young minds” (especially girl students who excelled over boys in academic pursuits) coming out of universities are going to drive this knowledge economy in the coming years. In this scenario, representing a particular family or business group was only going to be a “marginal support”, Jaitley said in an apparent reference to FLO members hailing from business families.

Gender Parity Index On the occasion, Jaitley released the ‘Gender Parity Index — A Tool Kit to Evaluate Gender Diversity & Empowerment of Women in the Formal Sector in India’.

He noted that the nature of entrepreneurship and creativity itself had changed in recent years and that this change was going to be even more visible in the coming years.

He said an analysis of 25 top business groups that existed prior to 1991 and now would show how the nature of the economy had changed.

Vinita Bimbhet, President, FLO, said the Gender Parity Index is a first of its kind in India. “It measures the extent of gender parity in the formal sector, it is broad and holistic and addresses gender parity at a micro level, in the formal sector: the building blocks of an organised society.

“It is designed to encourage change in the way organisations think and work and in the process provide women with unprecedented opportunities, promote economic empowerment and provide tools to tackle new challenges,” she said.

She said that gender equality was intrinsically linked to sustainable development and was vital to the realisation of human rights for all.

The overall objective of gender equality is a society in which women and men enjoy the same opportunities, rights and obligations in all spheres of life.

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