By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday the country must leverage the advantage of a young population to emerge as the leader in global innovation.
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here, the prime minister said the second decade of this century can be won by India if the country invests in the education, health and skills of the people.
“We must leverage our unique advantage to make India a leader in innovation,” he said.
Referring to various descriptions of India as a proverbial tortoise, elephant and hare, the prime minister said one may choose a description of India, but the the fact was that over a billion people were getting to realise their destiny.
“Our government has a great deal to do. We must spur growth,” he said.
The prime minister said his government had declared 2010-2020 as the decade of innovation and it was “putting together a roadmap for innovation”.
He said the young people were by nature innovative and the country must educate and provide skills to the younger population to enable them realise their potential.
Referring to diversity of the country, the prime minister said it was a great resource for innovation. He said that society was becoming much more interconnected through mobile phones and the Internet and it had transformational potential.
He said the government was putting in place a macro-economic framework that encourages savings and supports the spirit of entrepreneurship.