For sustainable long-term growth and to become the world’s largest by 2030, India must reduce inequality, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said here on Monday.
Delivering a lecture at a college here, Ms. Lagarde said: “Growth can’t be your only goal…. Your objective should be inclusiveness, welfare of people, especially those who have traditionally not been included.”
Low and declining female participation in the labour force constituted a ‘huge missed opportunity’, she said.
Citing a new IMF working paper, she said only 33 per cent of women in India participated in the labour force, as per the latest available data. This was lower than the global average of 50 per cent and the East Asian average in East Asia of 63 per cent.
“Much needs to be done in India to give girls a level playing field...most importantly level playing field in terms of respect so that even in villages they can feel safe,” she said. “We need more Indian women in areas beyond the liberal arts… I want more women economists from India.” She praised the Jan Dhan initiative saying its achievements on financial inclusion were unparalleled in the world on which India can build further.
The comments came a day before Ms. Lagarde is scheduled to meet Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The IMF chief met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley later, after delivering the lecture.
‘Girls need a level playing field’
Citing a new IMF working paper, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the participation of Indian women in the labour force was lower than the global average of 50 per cent and the East Asian average in East Asia of 63 per cent.
“Much needs to be done in India to give girls a level playing field...most importantly level playing field in terms of respect so that even in villages they can feel safe,” she said at the lecture here. “We need more Indian women in areas beyond the liberal arts… I want more women economists from India.”
She praised the Jan Dhan initiative saying its achievements on financial inclusion were unparalleled in the world on which India can build further.
The comments come a day before Ms. Lagarde is scheduled to meet Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The IMF chief met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here on Monday.
