Strong employment generation must come through various avenues, including startups, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as India heads into the fifth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The prime minister, in a freewheeling and exclusive interview with Sanjay Pugalia, editor-in-chief of NDTV, defended his government's record on job creation, while dismissing the opposition's criticism on this count. In addition, he observed that more youngsters are interested in investing in the stock markets.
Here's what he also said in the interview.
Participation In Stock Markets And Pro-Entrepreneur Policies
The prime minister said that the performance of the markets during "election week", or the week in which results to the Lok Sabha elections get announced, will show who's coming back to power. The election results will be announced on June 4.
"When our government took over, the markets were at 25,000 and now they are at 75,000," Modi said. "See the PSU banks, their value is increasing in the stock market."
Photo courtesy: NDTV Profit
Photo courtesy: NDTV Profit
"Wait and watch on June 4; the programmers behind the stock market will get tired of the action," said Modi.
To a question on the markets, which had risen initially but witnessed volatility amid the later stages of the elections. The volatility is giving rise to speculation that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance may face a reduced majority in the lower house of the parliament.
To this, Modi said his government has implemented the maximum number of economic reforms and pro-entrepreneurial policies, boosting the Indian economy.
The stock market gets a lot of young investors, which further strengthens the economy while encouraging them to increase their risk-taking ability and think independently, Modi said.
Opposition’s 'Redundant' Unemployment and PSU Argument
The prime minister pointed to criticism by opposition parties that the BJP was destroying public-sector undertakings by citing the example of state-run aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., which posted a profit of Rs 4,000 crore in the quarter ended March.
HAL's stock has risen roughly 13x in the last five years, according to NSE data.
The opposition parties, he said, tried to influence HAL's employees wrongly but failed.
Modi also said their claims of high unemployment in the country are false as the country cannot execute massive road and rail projects without adequate manpower.
We cannot build these massive structures with only big budgets, he said. "The opposition's unemployment argument doesn’t have facts."
Strength of Start-Ups
The prime minister pointed to the number of startups sprouting in India to back his argument. "From a mere thousand in 2014, today we have 1.25 lakh startups in India and they employ so many bright individuals, which the opposition doesn’t recognise."
India is home to 100 unicorns, or startups with valuations of $1 billion and above, which conduct business of at least Rs 8 lakh crore, said Prime Minister.
Upcoming Sectors And Growth Areas
Pointing to the rise of the gaming sector in the country, he said youngsters from tier-II and tier-III cities, are driving them.
"We're moving from an entertainment economy to a creative led economy," he said, adding such people are also capturing the global market through these initiatives.
The prime minister also said that investments in the green hydrogen sector will make it a big employment generator.
On other developments in the country, Modi said India now has over 150 airports from under 70 back in 2014. From operating roughly 600 aircraft currently under both private and public aircrafts, we have already placed orders for another 1,000 aircraft, he said, adding these investments will need more manpower and generate jobs across categories.
"Hence, the opposition has not done their research on unemployment and their argument is rudimentary," he said.
Six Crore Jobs Generated
Citing the Periodic Labour Force data, Modi said as many as 6 crore new jobs were generated over the past seven years. This can be verified through the new EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) registrations, he said.
Roughly 5 crore jobs have been created per year within the government over the past 10 years, according to a report from the SKOCH Group, the PM said. The report tracks as many as 22 parameters for the same.
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