The continued growth of India's MSME sector, a key employment driver, could shift focus from job creation to ensuring young Indians possess the required skills. In a conversation with Economic Times Digital, Gagan Arora, Founder & President, Vertex Group, argues that rural India could power the next MSME revolution, provided skilling moves beyond certificates to industry-ready capabilities, apprenticeships and real-world experience. Arora details how India can leverage its demographic dividend for competitive advantage by 2047, covering AI fluency, digital literacy, women's workforce participation, and the future of rural entrepreneurship. Edited excerpts.
Economic Times (ET): India's MSMEs contribute nearly 30% of GDP and employ over 28 crore people, yet many businesses continue to struggle with hiring. Is India's biggest employment challenge today job creation, or the lack of industry-ready talent? What does the data tell us?
