New Delhi: Unemployment is a big problem all over the world, including India. Reputed rating agencies and economic experts, who are admirers of India's strong GDP growth, have expressed concern over this many times. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath is also among them. She says that if India has to increase employment, then it will have to abandon the strategy of focusing on only a few sectors. Now there is a need to adopt a multi-dimensional approach for job creation.

Speaking to NDTV, Geeta also said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not affect many jobs in India. She argued that most of India's workforce is in the agricultural sector, which is labor-intensive. AI may have a greater impact on white-collar jobs.

Gita Gopinath, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF

How will jobs be created

Geeta Gopinath says that the government can take some measures to increase employment opportunities. She said, 'If you make business easier, it can increase employment opportunities. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are examples of this. Removing trade restrictions also plays a very important role. Increasing expenditure on infrastructure is also a measure, which the government is already implementing.'

But these are immediate measures to increase employment. The government will have to adopt a multi-pronged approach to generate employment in the medium to long term. Gita Gopinath said, 'India needs to increase its workforce along with investing more in human capital. Also, investing in improving the skills of workers will also be very important. India is still far behind its counterparts in this regard.'

Impact of AI on Jobs

Regarding the impact of AI, Gita Gopinath said that it can replace only 10 percent of jobs in India. She said that since most of India's workforce is engaged in labor-intensive agriculture, the impact of AI is going to be less. We estimate that 24 percent of India's workforce is exposed to AI, of which only 10 percent are at risk. This is a very small number.