The high level strategic group (HLSG) of the All India Management Association (AIMA) on Thursday presented its report, India’s New Opportunity -2020, to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The report recommends an enabling policy mechanism to create 40 million new jobs and the country’s GDP by up to $200 billion by 2020.HLSG chairman and Planning Commission member N.K. Singh presented the report to the PM. BCG was the consulting partner, and CII, the implementation partner in the report preparation. The report focusses on improving the country’s capability to enhance the quantity and quality of services, especially in the areas of travel and tourism, healthcare, education and civil aviation.Talking to media persons, Singh said the report does not rely on government investment. He emphasised on a number of ‘action areas’ such as expedition of airport restructuring, a comprehensive civil aviation policy, fiscal incentivisation in the healthcare sector and setting up of more educational institutes.The recommendations of the report are for the Central government, State governments and the corporate sector. For the Central government, some important recommendations are: Single window clearance for IT-enabled services, identification of 10 markets for Indian IT services; identification of five-six tourism circuits and development of infrastructure for these; positioning of India as a tourist destination; efficiency in visa issuance; and setting up of marketing intelligence network.India’s opportunity lies in changing world demographics, coupled with growth of service economies in developed countries. Ageing populations and reducing birth rates in almost all developed countries and China will create a shortfall of workforce, while needs of their populations for services increases along with economic growth.
