Southern States' Call for Higher Productivity

Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran highlighted the need for southern states to boost labor productivity, gross value addition, research, and skilling during the CII South Global Linkages Summit. Despite their commendable performance in GDP per capita, labor force participation, and manufacturing, there's significant room for improvement, especially in professional skills and high-value-added manufacturing.

Nageswaran pointed out that while 33% of the workforce in south India is engaged in manufacturing, the output share is only about 26%. This discrepancy underscores the potential for productivity enhancements. He emphasized the importance of advancing professional skills in light of global trends like high-value-added manufacturing and artificial intelligence adoption.

He also encouraged southern states to set their benchmarks against global standards, not just within India, to further their economic and social progress.