 Early Times Report
Mumbai, Sept 11: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday hit out at what she described as ‘Naraz Foofa Jis’ who constantly question India’s growth momentum and debate whether its demographic dividend has turned into a burden, saying the country is experiencing the demographic dividend in real time.
Addressing the valedictory session of Global Fintech Fest here, Sitharaman said some commentators continue to view India’s demographic expansion through a lens of ‘perpetual pessimism’ and rely on “vibecasting” rather than actual numbers.
“There is a persistent habit among some commentators to view India’s demographic expansion through a lens of perpetual pessimism,” she said.
Describing such critics as ‘Naraz Foofa Jis’, Sitharaman said they spend their time debating in television studios whether India’s demographic dividend has slipped away or become a burden.
She said such critics were measuring 21st-century economic ambition through 20th-century lenses and questioning whether India’s growth could keep pace with its young population.
“But while they remain stuck waiting for yesterday’s answers, the young minds of this country have simply bypassed their cynicism and gone ahead and built it,” she said.
Sitharaman said the younger generation was not waiting for legacy yardsticks to validate its productivity and was already building enterprises, writing code and shaping India’s future.
“This generation is not waiting for legacy yardsticks to validate their productivity. They are already writing tomorrow’s code, building enduring enterprises, and proving that India’s greatest demographic advantage is an active, unstoppable reality,” she said.
Pointing to the gathering she was addressing, Sitharaman said it represented the ‘living reality’ of India’s demographic dividend.
“I would ask them only to look at this hall. What is here before me is the living reality of our demographic dividend,” she said.
Pointing out that Artificial Intelligence (AI) acts as a double-edged sword, she said, “it helps us spot fraud faster, but it also allows attackers to automate larger, more sophisticated cyberattacks”.
Furthermore, she said the rise of quantum computing means our traditional security and encryption systems must be upgraded before current defences become obsolete.
“Our goal should be neither to block innovation out of fear nor to let speed compromise safety. Instead, we must separate wasteful operational friction from essential safeguards, the built-in checks, human oversight, and circuit breakers that protect the system,” she said.
“It is our responsibility to build the right guardrails so that greater speed also builds greater trust. Efficiency and safety should not be competing objectives; good institutional design must make them mutually reinforcing,” she said.
There is a need to ensure that innovation expands efficiency without bringing new forms of systemic fragility, she said. |
