Growth needs to be both inclusive as well as pro-people, and women led growth will be critical for attaining positive outcomes: Suman Bery, Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog

The world is a combination of capabilities, places and products: Ricardo Hausmann at CII Global Economic Policy Forum 2023

“Growth needs to be both inclusive as well as pro-people, and women led growth will be critical for attaining positive outcomes. The challenge is to use the mature institutional democratic structure of India to realize its potential in the Amrit Kaal” stated Mr. Suman Bery, Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, at the CII Global Economic Policy Forum 2023, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Department of Economic Affairs in New Delhi. He was speaking at the session “India an Emerging Global Economic Powerhouse: Strategies through the Lens of the Atlas of Economic Complexity”. He added that growth must be prioritized for achieving both the domestic as well as the international objectives of higher living standards and securing India’s strategic and institutional economy. He emphasized that it is important to strike the right balance between facilitation and regulation, both at the union and the state levels, for realizing India’s potential.

“It is important to link both the personal as well as spatial dimensions of inequality” added Mr. Bery and highlighted the importance of effective regional policies in this regard. He stated further that it is critical to build India’s growth momentum on the basis of India’s natural endowments. Adding that institutional maturity of a functional democracy is important for India’s growth, Mr. Bery stated that it is important to indicate how India’s trajectory in the Amrit Kaal will be distinctive, disruptive, different and responsible.

“The world is a combination of capabilities, places and products and India is very well placed in the product space of the world” stated Dr. Ricardo Hausmann, Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy, and Founder and Director, Dr. Hausmann highlighted the importance of knowhow in driving production processes and stated that “Implementation of technology requires people with differentiated knowledge to be brought together to make production processes possible”.

Dr. Hausmann elaborated on the importance of mapping products with capabilities, and how different technologies can lead to the creation of more diversified products. Dr. Hausmann stated that India is a big giant in the business/ICT services and has one of the highest revealed comparative advantages in the sector in the world. However, there remains a large scope of improvement in terms of achieving the same in India’s manufacturing sector, he added. Dr Hausman further added that the process of urbanization is a critical engine of growth, as it can bring people with different skill sets together to make more complex products. At the same time, it is important to spread knowledge and training, where the Indian Government can step in at the state, union as well as at the district levels to unleash India’s growth potential.

“Growth is critical for supporting livelihoods of people all around the world, especially in developing economies”, stated Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj, Immediate Past President, CII and Chairman, CII Economic Affairs Council. He added that the CII Global Economic Forum with the six themes of economic growth, global cooperation, digital transformation, climate action, inspirations from India and gender parity, will be a platform for thought provoking discussions and will bring global perspectives from global experts, senior policymakers, industry leaders, academia, among others, on current global issues and challenges.

India is the fastest growing economy in the world today and can leverage the whole concept of economic complexity to usher in a faster trajectory of growth when the world is facing a multitude of challenges, stated Mr. Sanjiv Puri, President Designate, CII. This is an opportune time to look at how the world, and particularly India, can identify new vectors of growth to accelerate economic growth and prosperity for all, he added.

7 December 2023

New Delhi