"Not Creating Jobs Even With Growth We Have," Says Raghuram Rajan

Though the growth figure is around 7 per cent -- which the government quoted in parliament in response to the debate on price rise -- this growth has been "insufficient for the kind of jobs we need," Raghuram Rajan said.

Raghuram Rajan, the former Governor of the Reserve Bank, told NDTV today that while growth figures in India is better than many nations, the country needs more on account of its huge population. Though the growth figure is around 7 per cent -- which the government quoted in parliament in response to the debate on price rise -- this growth has been "insufficient for the kind of jobs we need," Mr Rajan said.  

Co-relating jobs and demand, the twin drivers of economy, he said, "Despite growth, capacity utilisation is low. We need more demand going forward".

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, admitting that 7 per cent growth is "not something to sneer at," Mr Rajan said, "A lot of this growth is jobless growth. Jobs are essentially Task One for the economy. We don't need everybody to be a software programmer or consultant but we need decent jobs".

On how to go about creating jobs, Mr Rajan said, "There are no shortcuts here. We have to increase the skill base and education of our people... If we can create the skill base, the jobs will come".