A World Bank report has stated that 69 per cent jobs in India and 77 per cent in China are under threat. These jobs will be lost to automation as technology disrupts the traditional economic path in developing countries. This means that even as the country continues to invest in creating more jobs some thought needs to go into the kind of infrastructure that is being created. However, there is flip side to this story. While technology generally acts as a disrupter in one segment it tends to creates more jobs in another. As the economy rejigs itself there is likely to be a demand for jobs that require application of mind and creative inputs. And the duty of the government is to create the institutions that will impart required skills to workers. In India, the thought of acquiring new skills and getting oneself trained half way through one’s work like is new. It is traumatic to lose one’s job and be told that your skillset is no longer required as it easier for a machine to do the job. While the work force must be open to the idea of acquiring new skills, the government must chart out a development path that provides more stability for the worker.
