NEW DELHI
NITI Aayog member Rajiv Gauba sent a strong message to business leaders that India must stop just buying technology and start creating it. According to reports, he pointed out that India’s spending on research and development (R&D) is stuck at just 0.7% of its GDP, far behind the global average of 2.3%.
Currently, the government pays for 60% of all research in the country. Gauba argued that the private sector must step up and invest more if India wants to compete with nations like South Korea or China. He described R&D not as a “cost” but as a “strategic must” for the nation’s survival in the age of Artificial Intelligence and automation.
Beyond technology, Gauba highlighted a major “skilling gap.” He noted that only 1% of workers in tourism and 20% in construction have formal training. He urged industries to take responsibility for teaching workers new skills rather than waiting for the government to act. As industries change, having a trained workforce is no longer an option, it is a necessity to stay in business.
Finally, Gauba promised that the government is working to remove “regulatory cholesterol”, the old, complicated rules that slow down business. Since 2014, over 42,000 rules have been scrapped to build a system based on trust. He concluded by reminding everyone that a strong, growing economy is the best form of national security and the most powerful tool for India’s future.
