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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
AI is a generational shift, with impact far greater than internet: Sunil Mittal
Artificial intelligence is a generational shift, with its impact far greater than the internet, that touches almost every aspect of our lives, said Sunil Bharti Mittal , chairman, Bharti Enterprises . Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025 , the former CII president said a significant impact of AI in India is its effect on employment, particularly given India's large, young workforce. Mittal said AI will create difficulties in areas like software engineering, noting that now even a layman can speak to a machine to write code. 'India has the largest workforce, the youngest developing in the world. There are 20 million children in the age group six to sixteen. In ten year's time, they will be sixteen to twenty-six, each wanting a job. AI will create difficulties in that area. Some parts are clearly visible today,' Mittal said. However, Mittal said AI will also create new opportunities and more jobs. 'Using AI will become absolutely important for everyone, especially in emerging countries like India,' the executive said. Mittal said that while Indian industry is committed to national progress, an enabling environment from the government is essential to remove bottlenecks and accelerate India's development journey. He presented an industry wish list to the government, including key asks on Ease of Doing Business, GST reforms, and corporate taxation. Mittal highlighted the demographic advantage India holds as other developed nations ages and immigration barriers rise. 'Industry and academia must go beyond surface-level collaboration and jointly build a globally competitive, job-ready workforce. Emerging fields such as AI, green energy, space communication, and next-gen telecom demand urgent attention,' he said. Mittal also expressed concern over India spending less than 1% of its GDP on research and development, asking the industry to step up and invest aggressively in deep tech and innovation. 'Our large domestic market gives us scale, but we need intellectual leadership too. Only then can the government scale its R&D efforts with confidence,' Mittal said. The executive also called for a trade reset, advocating for a fundamental shift in India's approach to trade and exports. 'We must diversify our export basket and focus on products and services that are needed globally. No raw material should leave our shores without value addition,' Mittal said.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Artificial intelligence is a generational shift, with its impact far greater than the internet: Sunil Mittal
Artificial intelligence is a generational shift, with its impact far greater than the internet, that touches almost every aspect of our lives, said Sunil Bharti Mittal , chairman, Bharti Enterprises . Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025 , the former CII president said a significant impact of AI in India is its effect on employment, particularly given India's large, young workforce. Mittal said AI will create difficulties in areas like software engineering, noting that now even a layman can speak to a machine to write code. 'India has the largest workforce, the youngest developing in the world. There are 20 million children in the age group six to sixteen. In ten year's time, they will be sixteen to twenty-six, each wanting a job. AI will create difficulties in that area. Some parts are clearly visible today,' Mittal said. However, Mittal said AI will also create new opportunities and more jobs. 'Using AI will become absolutely important for everyone, especially in emerging countries like India,' the executive said. Mittal said that while Indian industry is committed to national progress, an enabling environment from the government is essential to remove bottlenecks and accelerate India's development journey. He presented an industry wish list to the government, including key asks on Ease of Doing Business, GST reforms, and corporate taxation. Mittal highlighted the demographic advantage India holds as other developed nations ages and immigration barriers rise. 'Industry and academia must go beyond surface-level collaboration and jointly build a globally competitive, job-ready workforce. Emerging fields such as AI, green energy, space communication, and next-gen telecom demand urgent attention,' he said. Mittal also expressed concern over India spending less than 1% of its GDP on research and development, asking the industry to step up and invest aggressively in deep tech and innovation. 'Our large domestic market gives us scale, but we need intellectual leadership too. Only then can the government scale its R&D efforts with confidence,' Mittal said. The executive also called for a trade reset, advocating for a fundamental shift in India's approach to trade and exports. 'We must diversify our export basket and focus on products and services that are needed globally. No raw material should leave our shores without value addition,' Mittal said.
Hans India
25-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
BJP slams Congress ‘ignorance' on ‘net FDI', highlights gain amid global uncertainty
The Congress and the BJP were involved in a verbal duel over economic issues on Sunday, with the former alleging a fall in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the latter slamming the Opposition party's misleading fixation with 'net FDI' and 'ignorance'. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh targeted the government for what he called dwindling foreign direct investment by posing on the social media platform X: 'The just-released RBI data reveals that Net FDI inflows into India in 2024/25 have plunged by an unprecedented 96 per cent to a measly $0.4 billion.' In-charge of the BJP's National Information and Technology Department, Amit Malviya, retorted, saying, 'Today, foreign capital is betting on India's future. The Opposition and their cheerleaders' fixation with 'net FDI' is not only economically misleading — it reflects either ignorance or a deliberate distortion of facts.' 'India's gross FDI inflows stood at $81 billion in FY25 — a 14 per cent year-on-year increase, despite global economic uncertainty and monetary tightening in the West. India continues to rank among the top 5 global FDI destinations,' said Malviya, an ex-banker himself. Earlier, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications questioned the government's policies and said: 'Whatever whitewashing of an official explanation for this precipitous fall is being provided, the fact remains that this reflects tremendous investment uncertainty in India - which is deterring not only foreign investors but Indian companies as well, who would rather invest abroad than at home. We ignore the implications of the dramatic decline at our own peril.' Malviya went on to give a comparison between FDI attracted under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and during the UPA era. 'Since 2014, cumulative FDI inflows have exceeded $670 billion. The Modi Government's reforms — ranging from Ease of Doing Business, PLI schemes, and digital infrastructure to taxation overhauls — have established a credible, rules-based investment climate,' said Malviya. The BJP leader said, 'More importantly, this is quality capital. FDI is now flowing into high-value sectors such as semiconductors, electric mobility, defence manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and green energy—not merely into real estate or speculative financial instruments.' Hitting out at the failures of the Congress-led government, Malviya said, 'Contrast this with the UPA era, marked by policy paralysis, retrospective taxation, and scandals like 2G and Coalgate, which created a hostile environment for both domestic and foreign investors. Back then, capital flight was the norm.' The BJP leader also used this opportunity to school Congress leaders on how to calculate FDI. 'Globally, FDI performance is measured by gross inflows, as reported by institutions like UNCTAD and the IMF. 'Net FDI' subtracts repatriation and Indian outbound investment, which unfairly distorts the picture, especially now that Indian companies are expanding abroad as global players. Outbound FDI is a sign of economic maturity, not a liability,' he said.
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Maharashtra to pay ₹500 crore to private firm for closure of 22 RTO checkposts
State govt would first have to pay ₹504 crore as compensation to a private company before it shuts down 22 RTO border checkposts, an official release said on Sunday. According to the statement, the company was contracted to implement an 'Integrated Check Post' project for the state transport and customs departments and, according to the signed deal, was to operate and maintain facilities at the RTO points. But since a decision was made to shut the border posts, the company would have to be compensated for the investment it made, the release said, quoting Maharashtra transport minister, Pratap Sarnaik . "However, after paying this amount, the related technology and immovable assets will become the property of the transport department," the statement added. Sarnaik said a proposal to this effect has been sent by his department to the chief minister's office. All border checks will be closed as soon as the approval is received. In September 2021, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways wrote a letter to Maharashtra and other states, saying there was no need anymore for regular check posts at the state borders after introduction of GST in July 2017. The ministry sought status reports from 13 states, including Maharashtra, on closure of RTO check posts . Sarnaik said the decision to close RTO check posts would bring Maharashtra on par with 18 other states in adopting a modern, paperless, and technology-based transport monitoring system . "This important decision is in line with the central govt's vision of Ease of Doing Business. It will benefit scores of transporters and will improve road safety as well," the minister said. But the state Congress unit has objected to the proposed release of ₹504 crore to the private firm. "State govt must put before the public the agreement documents and its terms and conditions. Taxpayers must know how the amount of ₹504 crore was arrived at and whether the govt was actually legally bound to pay such a huge amount of money," state general secretary of the party, Jitendra Dehade, said.
