lagging due to slow access to vaccine and binding constraints on policy support. multilateralism will lose credibility if it fails to ensure equitable access to vaccine across countries. if we can secure the health and immunity of the poor, we would have made a great leap towards inclusive growth. global co - operation remains vital for rapid progress on this front. 19. needless to add that inclusive growth in the post pandemic world will require cooperation and participation of all stake holders. in india, collaborative effort of various stakeholders is helping accomplish a seemingly difficult task of accelerating the pace of vaccination. the private sector is developing and manufacturing the vaccines ; the union government is centrally procuring and supplying it ; and the state governments are delivering and administering it in every nook and corner of the country. india is now administering a record of about one crore doses of the vaccine every day across all segments of the population. 20. a major challenge to inclusiveness in the post pandemic world would come from the fillip to automation provided by the pandemic itself. greater automation would lead to overall productivity gain, but it may also lead to slack in the labour market. such a scenario calls for significant skilling / training of our workforce. we also need to guard against any emergence of “ digital divide ” as digitisation gains speed after the pandemic. further, the need for professional human resources trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics ( stem ) is rising briskly. major technology - based firms have expressed their intention to hire many new professionals with skills in these areas. in the short - term, the supply of such a workforce cannot be increased by the traditional educational system, and thus there is a need for close involvement of corporates in the design and implementation of courses suitable to the changing industrial landscape. 21. as we recover, we must deal with the legacies of the crisis and create conditions for strong, inclusive and sustainable growth. limiting the damage that the crisis inflicted was just the first step ; our endeavour should be to ensure durable and sustainable growth in the post - pandemic future. restoring durability of private consumption, which has remained historically the mainstay of aggregate demand, will be crucial going forward. more importantly, sustainable growth should entail building on macro fundamentals via medium term investments, sound financial systems and structural reforms. towards this objective, a big push to investment in healthcare, education, innovation, physical and digital infrastructure will be required.

we should also continue with further reforms in labour and product markets to encourage competition and dynamism and to benefit from pandemic induced opportunities. the production linked incentive ( pli ) scheme announced by the government for certain sectors is an important initiative to boost the manufacturing sector. it is necessary that the sectors and companies which benefit from this scheme utilise this opportunity to further improve their efficiency and competitiveness. in other words, the gains from the scheme should be durable and not one off. 22. again, for growth to be sustainable, a transition towards greener future will remain critical. the need for clean and efficient energy systems, disaster resilient infrastructure, and environmental sustainability cannot be overemphasised. due consideration should be given to individual country roadmaps keeping in mind country - specific features and their stage of development while adopting policies towards climate resilience. conclusion 23. on the whole, while the pandemic has created enormous challenges, it can also act as an inflection point to alter the course of development. enhanced adoption of technology will give impetus to productivity, growth and income. leveraging technology in implementing government 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches schemes, training and skill development programme for the unemployed, promoting women friendly work atmosphere and supporting education of the poor and marginalized sections would be areas of focus as we embark on our journey beyond covid - 19. income and job creation with digitalisation and innovation can bring about a new age of prosperity for a large number of people. 24. many of us have grown up reading mahatma gandhi ’ s talisman5 in text books – “ i will give you a talisman. whenever you are in doubt … recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. will he gain anything by it? will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? ” as we strive to build a stronger and resilient india, this pearl of wisdom that we learnt long ago remains as relevant even today. thank you. stay safe. namaskar! 1 pib press release “ key declaration on climate change to be signed at the india ceo forum on climate change ” dated 4th november 2020. 2 roadmap for ethanol blending in india 2020 - 25, government of india, june 2021. 3 pib press release “ eepc celebrates 50th year of engineering