Latest news with #AnuradhaThakur
Hans India
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hans India
Anuradha Thakur Unveils ‘Unwritten Earthsongs' Solo Art Show
Renowned artist and TEDx speaker Anuradha Thakur inaugurated her solo art exhibition, Unwritten Earthsongs, at Park Hyatt, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. The exhibition, opened by Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary to the Government of Telangana, showcases Thakur's evocative collection of silhouetted figures, intricate Indian textiles, and dreamlike landscapes. Each canvas captures silent, soulful stories through vibrant colours, spiritual motifs, and poetic detailing. Described by Thakur as an invitation to reflect and reconnect with heritage, the exhibition runs until 20th July 2025. Unwritten Earthsongs celebrates inner strength, cultural depth, and the unseen melodies that link humanity to nature and spirit.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
14-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Need to push GCC with policy support, exact action points: DEA Secy
There is a need to study state-specific policies where Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have grown—such as in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka—to strategise how the government can support this sector with a targeted policy push, said Anuradha Thakur, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), on Monday. She added that India has the core competitive advantages needed to drive the phenomenal growth of GCCs. 'We need exact action points. What should be allowed to grow organically, where a fillip is needed, and which are those areas of collaboration where government or industry needs to come forward and engage further,' Thakur said. Speaking at the CII's GCC Business Summit, the DEA Secretary said strong physical and digital infrastructure, strategic interventions through the Digital India initiative, streamlined approval processes, and India's large talent base have helped GCCs thrive. Noting that there are over 1,800 GCCs operating out of India, Thakur said these centres are major engines of revenue, growth and employment, and need to expand their geographical footprint. Thakur highlighted India's large annual output of STEM graduates, a diverse workforce with significant female participation, and a young median age. These demographic factors, she said, provide fertile ground for continued GCC growth and expansion. She added that as GCCs expand into engineering, AI, and emerging technologies, there is a need to introduce specialised academic courses. Referring to the PM Internship Scheme, Thakur said, 'Unfortunately, GCCs could not participate to the extent that we had expected in the PM Internship Scheme, and we found the decision-making probably could have been faster than that.' Speaking at the event, Labour Secretary Vandana Gurnani said that GCCs should leverage existing employment initiatives such as the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme for talent acquisition, and noted their substantial potential for job creation. She also highlighted ongoing collaboration with state governments to advance labour reforms. Gurnani outlined the expansion of career lounges in universities, which can serve as talent pipelines for the GCC sector, and noted India's international agreements for workforce mobility that can be effectively leveraged for GCC operations.
Mint
14-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
India needs a sharper push to power next GCC wave: DEA secretary
New Delhi: India's Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have flourished on the back of robust infrastructure, business-friendly reforms and a deep talent pool but sustaining this momentum will require more work, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) secretary Anuradha Thakur said on Monday. A targeted policy push, deeper Centre-state coordination and curriculum upgrades were among tasks lying ahead. Speaking at the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) GCC's Business Summit, Thakur said the core drivers of India's rise as a global hub for GCCs included strong physical and digital infrastructure, the Digital India mission, and a decade of regulatory reforms aimed at streamlining approvals, taxation, and compliance. These interventions laid the foundation for India's dominance in the space, with over 1,800 GCCs now operating in the country, she said. "Over the years initiatives like streamlined tax regulations, compliance procedures, all of this together, have built up this segment," she added. Thakur also emphasized the need to study state-level success stories, particularly Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, to understand what early policy and infrastructure choices helped attract GCCs. 'Whether we need to replicate these models or enhance them further is something we need to deliberate today. Perhaps a bit of both,' she said. The rapid expansion of GCCs into engineering, research and development (R&D), artificial intelligence (AI), and emerging technologies underscores the need for curriculum reform, Thakur added. She also suggested the introduction of specialized engineering courses in ITIs and greater alignment between industry needs and academic training. Highlighting that India's demographic advantage continues to play a critical role, with 2.1 million STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates emerging annually, over 35% female participation in the sector, and a median workforce age of 28, she added that the talent pool needs better integration into national skilling initiatives. Citing her experience in the ministry of corporate affairs, Thakur said programmes like the PM Internship Scheme suffered from slow uptake by the GCC sector due to delayed decision-making, despite their potential for mutual benefit. "Unfortunately, the GCCs could not participate to the extent that we had expected, and we found the decision-making probably could have been faster," she added. Thakur also flagged the importance of geographic diversification beyond traditional metro hubs, suggesting that many tier-2 cities with rich talent pools could become cost-effective alternatives with the right infrastructure and state support. "Many of the states where we have a bulk of talented human resources, probably don't have the bulk of the GCCs, which could be there, which could be another way of (being) competitive on cost," she added. As more global players, from beyond the US, look to India as a GCC destination, Thakur called for broader international outreach to attract newer businesses and investment. She added the need to step up outreach to countries exploring GCC destinations and underscored the need for closer government-industry partnerships to shape supportive policy frameworks.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Need to streamline policies to make India GCC hub: Official
Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said there needs to be a deliberation on the policies adopted by states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, wherein most GCCs are localised and see if such policies can be emulated across the country. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads India needs to streamline policies at national level to make the country a hub for Global Capability Centres (GCC), a senior official said on Monday. Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said there needs to be a deliberation on the policies adopted by states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, wherein most GCCs are localised and see if such policies can be emulated across the has about 1,800 GCCs, which are set up by MNCs as offshore facilities to manage their business contribute to the economy about 1.8 per cent of the total Gross Value Added (GVA) and the innovation in startup ecosystem has helped increase GCC presence in India, she said at the CII-GCC Business Summit."Even now GCCs are focused in particular states so we need to study what those states did earlier, whether it was Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana. We know those states have specific policies both on physical infrastructure and digital infrastructure, they also have certain regulatory policy initiatives which have helped GCCs there and grow further."Whether we need to disturb that, or add more is something that we need to do today, perhaps a bit of both," Thakur is currently focusing on becoming a hub for MNCs to set up their GCCs in the the 2025-26 Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced formulating a national framework, which will guide states in promoting GCCs in tier II cities. "This will suggest measures for enhancing availability of talent and infrastructure, building-bye laws reforms, and mechanisms for collaboration with industry," Sitharaman had said as GCCs are now expanding to Tier 2 cities, there is a need to deliberate on the framework that is needed and also a Centre-state dialogue to expand GCCs Secretary said that many states have talented resources and having bulk of the GCCs could be competitive on cost."As more global players are going to be setting up shop, can there be more outreach to different countries to attract them to India," Thakur the same session, Union Labour Secretary Vandana Gurnani said, there is a huge scope for developing GCCs in India to promote employment opportunities for , youth unemployment rate is 13.3 per cent, whereas in India it is 10.2 per cent."Now this is where I think there is a huge scope of GCC and where we need to collectively mobilize together and do a lot of work," she said pointing out that youth unemployment rate has come down from 17.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 10.2 per highlighted the decent increase in the labour force participation rate, including for women and youth."I know for the IT sector, these (labour reforms or codes) are much required. These changes have already been made. So this is the way currently the work is progressing."While the codes are still coming into effect, she said the action has shifted to states and when they are making these reforms in the Acts and Rules, "we from the national level are supporting it to make sure that it works."She also informed that the ministry has started partnering with universities and educational institutions to set up education-to-employment career is one such lounge in the National Institute of Career Services at Noida, she stated adding that the ministry wants to expand this to almost all the universities in the said there are global collaborations for mobility of the workforce."We have partnerships as part of the G20 Skills Initiative. And we have bilateral agreements with certain countries including, for example, Japan and Germany for cross-border talent mobility. These agreements and these partnerships also could be leveraged for the work of the GCC," she added.
