Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that the only way to remain competitive in this globalised world is to harness new and emerging technologies and we need to educate and skill our people to absorb these technologies.

Indian graduates will play an important role in not only shaping India's destiny and future but will also help in charting out the roadmap for the world." He added that the onset of emerging technologies will lead to new economic activities and production centres would also shift in the future.

Addressing an FICCI event, Goyal said, "Technology is truly a powerful tool to help democratise development, which will lead to social and economic equality. It should be a passion for each one of us to engage, learn and innovate in technology." He added that while education is vital, we also need to grow and nurture leaders who will shape our destiny.

Goyal, while  highlighting the importance of Yoga, emphasized on the fact that India should offer its traditional strengths to the rest of the world while at the same time acknowledge and accept the good things it can learn from the rest of the world.

He said that 'Atmanirbhar Bharat; is going to be a defining moment for India's economic future and prosperity.

Alluding to the initiatives of the government, Goyal said that the government has identified 20 sectors where India can meet its domestic needs and also emerge as globally competitive, becoming leaders supplying to the world.

He added that railways is setting up a National Rail Transportation University and planning training programmes for re-skilling and up-skilling the railway men and women.

Goyal said that the paper will be a good referral for policymakers and educationists across the country to reassess their competencies and engage with the best that is available across the globe.

Taking into account the tremendous changes in the global education landscape, Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said, "I propose global universities reach out to the Indian universities and create a new age partnership model wherein foreign students substantially engage with Indian universities, studying  the contemporaneous  relevant  programs, while being admitted to the global universities which they can join later without disrupting the whole year."

She said that given the current crisis, preparing the workforce for the 21st century society will require rethinking the traditional education model and adopting cutting edge teaching practices to prepare our youth to live in a complex, multi-dimensional and global society.

Dr Reddy added that the world will certainly undergo a radical change and for being ready for that 'unforeseen change' , it is important that we all work towards rebounding, reforming and creating more resilient 'future citizens'.

Highlighting the importance of education and research, Dr T. R. Paarivendhar, Chancellor, SRMIST said that the government and academia along with the industry needs to work together so that talented professionals can be nurtured across different fields.

The collaboration between academia and industry can unlock the tremendous potential of the education sector. He added that there was a pressing need for public funding to encourage research in the country.

Paarivendhar said that India is experiencing an economic slowdown and there is a need to provide thrust to specific areas such as agriculture, MSME and services sector.

He added that employment and jobs in the country are primarily created by medium and small scale industries and hence to encourage them, the government should incentivize them through various concessions including GST.