Young Indian population an asset in taking nation to greater heights: Manmohan Singh

 Describing people as India's biggest asset, visiting Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday said at a time when the industrialised world is aging rapidly, India has the advantage of a young population.

Taking part in the Khazanah Global Lecture Series 2010 on "India's Development Experience here, Dr. Singh said the dependency burden in India is expected to keep falling for another 20 years.

"It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan. However, a young population is an asset only if it is educated, skilled and finds productive employment. If this were to happen, our objective of realizing India's potential to grow at ten percent or more per annum for a substantial period of time can become a reality," he added.

During the interaction, Dr. Singh reflected on some key features of the new phase in India's economic development. He highlighted six key elements facilitating India's drive towards development and economic well being.

First, India seeks rapid economic growth that will create wealth for its people and also generate surpluses to fund our ambitious social development programs.
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