Nitin Paranjpe, the chairman of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), emphasized the importance of retaining the best talent in India while simultaneously equipping the current workforce with employable skills to further boost the country’s growth. He highlighted the emerging trend of “brain-gain,” where
skilled professionals
are returning to India, driven by factors such as the growing entrepreneurial landscape, geopolitical realignment, and the expanding digital ecosystem, a report in the Economic Times said.
However, HUL chairman stressed that addressing India’s challenges in developing human capital cannot be the sole responsibility of the government. “Corporates will need to play a key role — be it in ensuring
reskilling
and upskilling the workforce populace, creating employment, embracing diversity or supporting human development,” said Paranjpe. He called for a strong public-private partnership to uplift the nation’s skills and capabilities on the required scale, urging
India Inc
to collaborate with the government to create a significant impact.
India has set an ambitious goal to become a middle-income country, expand its economy to $10 trillion, and secure the position of the third-largest economy by 2030. HUL noted that achieving this plan will require the nation to increase its growth rate from the historical average of around 7% CAGR over the past decade to more than 8%. Paranjpe highlighted India’s impressive growth compared to major economies like the US, UK, and Japan, and the investments made in creating one of the world’s best digital public infrastructures, driving financial inclusion and stimulating economic growth, the ET report said.
In 2022, around 770,000 Indian students left the country for higher education, marking a six-year high. A 2023 report by IT industry body Nasscom estimated that approximately 25% of Indian startups were founded by returning Indian-origin professionals, bringing back crucial expertise and investment.
India aims to become a middle-income country, expand its economy to $10 trillion, and become the third-largest economy by 2030. HUL acknowledged that this ambitious plan requires the nation to increase its growth rate from a historical average of about 7% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past decade to more than 8%.
“We have been one of the fastest growing large economies in the world over the last decade, a growth rate well ahead of the largest economies — the US and UK at 2%, Japan at 1% and almost on a par with China (~7%). Second, investments made over the last decade have created the foundation of what is already among the best digital public infrastructure in the world, driving financial inclusion and stimulating economic growth,” Paranjpe noted.
