Bill Gates says jobs growth in India is linked to quality education; universities and schools must foster innovation

Microsoft founder Bill Gates believes India is “lucky” in that it has a growing youth population, and said employment opportunities in the world’s sixth-largest economy will increase with improvements in the quality of higher education. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Gates said that the key predictor of a hike in jobs is quality education. “Nothing comes close to the key issues… Do those kids really learn while they’re in school? Are Indian universities allowing students to be innovative?” All this is more important than questions about how or when artificial intelligence (AI) will impact the job market, he said.

'Society should expect the super successful to engage in giving back in some way'. @BillGates talks about how education sticks out as the number one cause for Indian philanthropists. Don't miss this #Exclusive chat with @ShereenBhan today at 7 pm @gatesfoundation pic.twitter.com/IVTNVkYVAQ

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) August 10, 2018

And ‘The Giving Pledge’ is doing its bit in tackling problems that plague the education system in India, including at the primary school level, Gates added. “[Under The Giving Pledge] we talk about how do you give to education in India; how do you do pilots and help kids learn. We share success stories… [it’s] a global movement that helps us do more and work with each other.” The billionaire also told the news channel that the private sector is where most jobs will be created,. “When private sector is given the right incentives, [and] the scale of demand, [a] lot of good things can happen.” There is opportunity to get way more out of the private sector, he stated. Furthermore, the philanthropist termed the evolving global trade tensions as “scary” and said they could hit economic growth, and jobs. “The rhetoric that, okay, you know we’ll use trade tariffs and we’ll force somebody to do something, that can escalate…That alone will be quite a burden on economic growth and therefore job creation.” Factory activity and jobs India’s manufacturing activity moderated in July, 2018, amid a softer increase in output, new orders and employment, according to a monthly survey that polls factory managers. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) stood at 52.3 in July, down from 53.1 in June. Although softening slightly since June, both domestic and export orders rose for the ninth consecutive month in July. And Reflecting sustained periods of growth in output and new orders, firms were encouraged to raise their staffing levels for the fourth successive month in July, the survey added.