MUMBAI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hit out at those questioning the higher economic growth reported in the first half saying the country is witnessing the real demographic dividend now in real time.
Last month, the government had said the first quarter growth printed in at a high 7.8%, which as much more than the RBI forecast of 7% and also consensus of under-7% clip, and many including the former head of the national statistical office Pronab Sen questioned the methodology deployed to arrive at the numbers and the steep down revision in the previous quarters.
Addressing the concluding session of the Global Fintech Summit here on Friday she said some commentators continue to view our demographic expansion through a lens of 'perpetual pessimism' and rely on "vibecasting" rather than actual numbers.
“There is a persistent habit among some to view our demographic expansion through a lens of perpetual pessimism," she said.
Sitharaman said further that they spend their time debating in television studios whether the demographic dividend has slipped away or become a burden and that such critics are measuring 21st-century economic ambition through 20th-century lenses and questioning whether our growth can keep pace with our young population.
“But while they remain stuck waiting for yesterday's answers, our youth have simply bypassed their cynicism and gone ahead and built it," she said.
She said the youth are not waiting for legacy yardsticks to validate its productivity and was already building enterprises, writing code and shaping their future.
“This generation is not waiting for legacy yardsticks to validate their productivity. They are already writing tomorrow's code, building enduring enterprises, and proving that our greatest demographic advantage is an active, unstoppable reality," she said pointing the audience.
Pointing out that artificial intelligence (AI) acts as a double-edged sword, she said, "it helps us spot fraud faster, but it also allows attackers to automate larger, more sophisticated cyberattacks".
On the rise of quantum computing she said I means our traditional security and encryption systems must be upgraded before current defences become obsolete.
“Our goal should be neither to block innovation out of fear nor to let speed compromise safety. Instead, we must separate wasteful operational friction from essential safeguards, the built-in checks, human oversight, and circuit breakers that protect the system," she said.