The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has indicated at the likelihood of growth of the manufacturing sector without creation of much jobs due to high automation in industries.

In fact, while there will be growth of the manufacturing sector, the high automation could lead to drastic job cuts, according to Chairperson of FICCI Young Leaders Sulajja Firodia Motwani.

Outlining some mega trends that could impact the country and its economy and people, she said, “In the period 1995-2002 around 31 million manufacturing jobs have disappeared and it is predicted that by 2040, out of the present 163 million jobs in the manufacturing area, only a few million will remain.”

In her inaugural address on the Mega Trend Road Show hosted at the Indian Business School in Hyderabad today, she said that while jobs in traditional sectors will perish, they will emerge in new areas such as green energy and data management.

Mentioning about the Third Industrial Revolution she attributed the change in job patterns driven by availability of energy and internet.

According to economist Jeremy Refkin, President of the Foundation of Economic Trends in US, the third industrial revolution will be propelled by focus on green technologies and penetration of Internet. He said while the first industrial revolution was powered by steam engines and the advent of printing technologies, the second was driven by communication tools such as telephone, radio, television and internal combustion engines.

He said that the third industrial revolution concept has been ratified by the European Union. Six mega trends were identified which will impact India’s growth story in the coming decade.

These include the third industrial revolution, new business models in the age of distributed capitalism, intelligent technologies and future of work, collaborative education, the ascendance of civil society and continental markets and continental political unions.

rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in

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