 "N Chandrasekaran with Poonam Muttreja at the JRD Tata Memorial Awards and Oration by Population Foundation Of India")
"Every month, on average, 1,000,000 youth join the workforce. India is the world’s emerging workforce," said N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons on Monday at the 16th JRD Tata Oration in Delhi.
While speaking on "Harnessing the Power of India's Youth" at the 16th JRD Tata Memorial Oration and 7th JRD Tata Memorial Awards hosted by the Population Foundation of India, Chandrasekaran highlighted the opportunities and challenges in leveraging India’s demographic advantage for sustainable and inclusive development.
"700 million Indians are below the age of 30. We have a large number of highly skilled people. India produces the largest number of STEM graduates in the world. We also have 16 percent of the world’s AI talent pool," he said.
Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director of the Population Foundation of India added, "As an author, Tata Sons Chairman has laid out his vision for a digitally empowered nation in his book 'Bridgital Nation,' a clarion call to harness technology in the service of humanity. This is emblematic of his belief that the true measure of a business's success is its ability to make a positive difference in people’s lives."
The oration series, initiated in 1990, has featured prominent leaders discussing population, health, and development issues. Past speakers include Dr. Amartya Sen, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, and Dr. Manmohan Singh.
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In his speech, Chandrasekaran also emphasised the critical role of women and girls in achieving demographic dividends, highlighting the disparities in labor participation and wages between genders. He called for inclusive growth, stressing the need for universal access to education and healthcare.
The oration also included the 7th JRD Tata Memorial Awards, where Chandrasekaran awarded states and union territories for their achievements in population and women’s empowerment.
The event concluded with a vibrant dialogue, discussing ways to support and maximize the potential of India's younger generation, particularly women and girls, in the global landscape.
Dr Srinath Reddy, Chairman of the NGO’s governing board, reaffirmed the commitment of the Population Foundation of India to reproductive justice, emphasising the goal of ensuring women's autonomy and helping them realize their full potential. “To ensure women’s autonomy, and help them realise their full potential has been a core mission of Population Foundation of India, which we are determined to achieve,” she said.
