Singapore President says Indian society needs sense of urgency

The recently elected Indian-origin president of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam had made a speech during a NITI Aayog organised event called “Transforming India” in 2016. 

He had highlighted various constraints that were stopping India from achieving substantial growth rates. 

"India has not been geared to exporting to the world. That’s a major shortfall in its economy, compared to several East Asian nations. India has 18 percent of the world’s population, but less than 2 percent of the world’s exports. Your exports per person are only one-fifth the level seen in China or Vietnam,” he said

“It has to withdraw from the old roles of the State – economic regulation, and ownership and management of enterprise. Those roles restrain private investment and job creation. They also preserve incumbents, the existing players, at the cost of allowing new players to grow," he added

“What it amounts to at the end of the day is anti-employment legislation. You’re protecting the 10 to 20 percent of people in the formal economy at the expense of the 80 percent without formal jobs," he highlighted stressing on the need for reforms. 

“But India needs a sense of urgency in politics and society, in government and amongst its people, to achieve this potential. India has the biggest gap I know of, between the talent at the top and the unfulfilled potential of the rest of society," he said, flagging education as an area that needs top priority.