Layoffs a ‘very good sign’ as more young people want to turn entrepreneurs, says Railways Minister

In an unusual role reversal, the opening session of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) India Economic Summit was witness to industry representatives worrying about the job market amid layoffs by top firms while a Cabinet Minister termed the spate of ‘job reductions’ as a good omen for India’s youth as they strive to be job creators instead of job seekers.

Flagging the rising inequality in society, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal expressed concern on Thursday about the ‘significant reduction’ in employment over the past few years by India’s top 200 companies. “If these top 200 companies are not going to generate jobs, it’s going to get harder and harder for the whole business community to pull society along with it,” Mr. Mittal said.

“And then, you will leave millions and millions behind,” Mr. Mittal warned, suggesting the need for businesses to introspect on the need to have ‘some social angle’ in the way they operate.

Railways and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal interjected and said: “Can I just add a little bit just to change the perspective from what Sunil had mentioned?... What Sunil just spoke about companies bringing down their employment is a very good sign, in fact.”

“The fact that today, the youth of tomorrow is not looking to be a job seeker alone. He wants to be a job creator.

“The country today is seeing more and more young people wanting to be entrepreneurs,” Mr. Goyal said, after explaining that India was going through the same churn as the rest of the world due to the changing nature of jobs.

‘Urge for independence’

“With the advent of 3D manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, with innovation playing a central role, more and more people are getting engaged on their own, and are looking to become franchisees, people who come up with ideas and want to be independent,” the Minister said.

Mr. Goyal also asserted that the Railways alone could create ‘not less than a million jobs’ in less than 12 months. These, he clarified, wouldn’t involve direct employment, but engagement in a variety of different areas in the ecosystem around the Railways.

Mastercard U.S. president and CEO Ajay Banga also termed ‘jobs’ as the single key challenge on which he would like to see progress in India. “I think that’s where the focus has to be,” said Mr. Banga, who voiced alarm that women in some villages were not permitted to see a mobile phone and urged India to do away with khap panchayats which issue such diktats.

Mr. Mittal made his comments in the context of the need for businesses to be a ‘force for good’ and pointed out that small and medium enterprises were struggling to get credit from banks.

“The last decade has not been good for the business community — the disparities among the rich and poor has only widened,” he said. “The distribution of wealth has not reached all levels of society. All that is causing a lot of stress to the political system.”

“I read a report yesterday that 200 top companies actually saw a reduction in employment in the last few years, and a significant reduction,” Mr. Mittal said.