India Economic Summit : Subhrakant Panda, Managing Director of IMFA and former President of FICCI, emphasized the untapped potential of labor in India’s economic growth, calling for reforms to make better use of the country’s workforce. While speaking at  India Economic Summit —India’s biggest business event, Panda pointed out that in a nation as large and diverse as India, labor is a crucial yet underutilized resource.

“In a country as large as ours, we are not effectively utilizing that factor of reform, which is labour. It is obviously sub-optimal going ahead,” said Panda, stressing that although capital and technology play vital roles in economic development, labor must be harnessed more efficiently to achieve sustainable growth. 

He pointed out that India’s demographic advantage, with a young and large workforce, is an asset that could significantly contribute to the country’s industrial and economic development.

Panda’s comments also touched upon the global market dynamics, particularly China’s dominance in many industrial sectors. “When it comes to most commodities, China accounts for roughly half of the world’s production, and then it is distributed among the rest, whether it’s steel or other commodities,” he noted.