AI Proving Influential in Healthcare, Time to Revisit GST: Nageswaran Nageswaran said that the country has to lot to offer in terms of budget in terms of initiatives on upskilling and job creation in AI, a technology that is proving to be influential in areas like diagnostics and general healthcare.

Venkatramanan Anantha Nageswaran, the economist and the 18th Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India said that given the scale of data available in the country, the government is well aware of its special obligation in terms of data security and spoke about various aspects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), business enterprises and the way forward in terms of job creation at the recently held Sankalp Bharat Summit in Varanasi.

Nageswaran said that the country has to lot to offer in terms of budget in terms of initiatives on upskilling and job creation in AI, a technology that is proving to be influential in areas like diagnostics and general healthcare.

"AI has to be labor complementing rather than displacing. Unless you create jobs, there will be no household consumption growth, and every problem is magnified to a large extent due to our size," said Nageswaran.

Nageswaran, also said that the government's role in promoting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has been to redefine what the sector means, as well as create mechanisms to improve access to finance and advise banks to rely on internal credit models.

"Specific credit guarantee schemes, provide financial support when a Non-Performing Assets (NPA) situation occurs, emergency credit line to MSMEs to stay float, and deregulation," said Nageswaran on the government's efforts towards the sector.

The economic advisor also stressed the obligations that MSMEs carry in order to achieve success and achieve government support. "Think big, focus on product quality, set benchmark to global standards and aim to scale up."

Nageswaran also said the concept of 'Jugaad' has to be erased from the Indian dictionary to set higher standards and match global criteria as well as urging MSMEs to have people who are ambitious and open to continuous upskilling and provide constant feedback to the government.

The CEA also notably admitted that it was time to revisit 'Goods and Services Tax' (GST) to propel the manufacturing and service industry forward and work towards deregulation to help the industry.

Political shifts in the West have been a focal point for India, especially in terms of fund flow from the foreign markets. Nageswaran said that the capital flow shouldn't be a problem and that the country remains an attractive investment destination.

"Inflows have remained strong, and the last two years have been marked by good outflows. No real concern as India remains the fastest growing country in g20, although trade flows will be tricky," said Nageswaran.