India should ensure it is safe for women: Gita Gopinath

As India embarks on the path of growth, it is important for one of the world's fastest growing economies to ensure it is a safe place for women, economist Gita Gopinath said today.
"We are talking about growth, we are talking about India two decades from now, but I just want to say that India has to be a better place for women. If you want women to be a part of the growth, it has to be a safe place to go to work anywhere," Gopinath, who is professor of economics at Harvard University, said.
Speaking at the India Economic Summit here, she said the country faces a skill deficit and needs to match skills to job, which is the responsibility of both public and private sectors.

"The country faces a skills deficit and people aren't equipped for the new jobs that Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring," she added.
On interference by politicians in business, Gopinath said that politicians often do not make the best economic decisions because "they care too much about votes".
The Harvard professor said that she is in favour of having an open environment as long as there is a level playing field.

"But I do like the idea of tying foreign direct investment to some kind of technology transfer," she added.
A T Kearney Board Chairman Johan Aurik said: "For innovation and the growth of start-ups, it is not capital that is in shortage, but bright, entrepreneurial people."

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said India needs to allow entrepreneurship to grow.
"We need young entrepreneurs to take on the Amazons of the world by sheer technology and their ability to understand the Indian market better," he added.
Paytm founder V S Sharma said the opportunity for Indian entrepreneurs is to build a global company out of India and not to give the market to a global company.
"It is not just a matter of capital. If money is your answer to your problem, you have not yet found the answer to your problem," he added.