In order to make India a thriving five trillion dollar economy in the next 5-6 years, WE not only need to get rid of the slowdown, but also have to achieve a growth rate of about eight percent every year. This is what most economists and other experts are saying and seeking from the government. Everyone would agree with this need of the hour.

I used the word “WE” deliberately here because this high growth rate in a consumption driven economy would only be possible with the collective contributions of all 130 crore Indians. To ride on 8 percent plus GDP growth rate year-on-year; employment opportunities needs to rise: number of tax payers need to increase and economic output and productivity needs to go up. The country must focus on bigger goals and utilize its time judiciously.

In a recent Times of India newspaper astonishing news was published in which it was reported that in 2019 India spent  a mind boggling 5.5 billion hours of their time on Tick-Talk social media app. Which means people of India; especially the younger generation spend about 5 hours of precious time (per person) on Tick Talk, which is obviously having a significant negative impact on the productivity of the country. The effect of this habit on the thinking of these young minds is a subject of serious debate, separately.

Even half of the above mentioned time, which is spent on mobile phones, is used by these youth for their own and welfare of their families, can reduce the burden of working/earning member/s in their families and increase the economic output contributing to GDP growth  by even 0.5% , the slowing economy as a result can do much better.

The youth of today which is getting educated, a level up, is increasing becoming too active on mobile phones; less active in actions, is also shy of lending a helping hand to their families; be it domestic or agri field chores, especially in rural India. They feel inferiority complex in doing traditional agricultural farm work and obviously are attracted to jobs and big cities (putting extra pressure on infrastructure and sustainability), which coupled with population exploration, inequality in employment opportunities,  rural urban divide, has created huge imbalance and finding a solution has become increasingly difficult.

Earlier, 20 years ago, finding a private job was easy while in government it was difficult, however, now even in private sector required number of jobs are not available. The youth needs to understand this and accordingly must focus on adding value themselves to their lives growth path and sustainability.

Also, equally important is to pay taxes and file annual returns. It is really sad that in a country (as per recent figures) where people buy 1.5 crore luxury cars a year and more than 3 crore travel abroad for holidays, only 2200 people declared income above Rs 1 crore.

We need to think and realize that the speed of development and economic growth is highly dependent on the money that government receives in its accounts from taxes. Let’s all pledge to pay taxes and insure bright future for our kids.brothers and sisters.

By Aryan Prem Rana, Founder and Chief Mentor, AARYANA MATASCO