Well-designed regulatory ecosystem can further strengthen service exports: NITI Aayog
New Delhi, Aug 14
As India approaches its demographic peak, professional services offer significant opportunities for high-skilled employment, entrepreneurship and innovation, a NITI Aayog report said on Friday, adding that a well-designed regulatory ecosystem can further strengthen service exports, cross-border mobility of professionals and the ease of doing business.
The report provides an indicative pathway for future policy dialogue and deeper examination of the regulatory foundations of professional services. As
Ashok Kumar Lahiri, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, launched the third report under the 'Services Thematic Series' in the presence of Nidhi Chhibber, CEO, NITI Aayog, and Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MOSPI.
According to an official statement, the report presents a unique factual assessment of India's regulatory framework in professional services and benchmarks it against select foreign jurisdictions.
Drawing on extensive stakeholder consultations, it also identifies key challenges and outlines a way forward to strengthen the sector and unlock the full potential of India's professional workforce.
The report said that professional services is a key sub-sector in the services economy, accounting for nearly a quarter of India's total services exports.
As high-value, knowledge-intensive activities, they enable efficient delivery of downstream services, support job creation and remittance inflows, and form the backbone of the services value chain.
Understanding the regulatory ecosystem governing these services is therefore critical to unlocking further growth.
Further, the report adopts a balanced approach and provides sector-specific insights, alongside a four-pronged strategy to enhance the efficiency and output of professional services: harnessing emerging trends to transform professional services; elevate professional services within the services value chain; adoption of best practices in professional services, and continuous professional development for professionals.
As India advances towards 'Viksit Bharat at 2047', such efforts will be integral to building a globally competitive, inclusive and future-ready services sector, said NITI Aayog.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This is good to see but our regulatory framework still has too many archaic provisions. The report mentions benchmarking with foreign jurisdictions, but we need actual implementation, not just reports. Our CAs, engineers, and legal professionals face so much difficulty getting recognized abroad. Need concrete action!
Professional services accounting for ~25% of services exports is impressive. The four-pronged strategy sounds promising, especially harnessing emerging trends like AI and digital delivery. But let's be practical - without better education-industry linkages, our graduates won't have the skills needed for high-value global services. 🇮🇳
Good initiative, but while we push for Viksit Bharat 2047, the ground reality for professionals is different. Many talented Indian professionals are leaving because of high taxation and bureaucratic hurdles in setting up practices. The report should address domestic ease of doing business too, not just exports. 🤔
This is the right approach - the demographic dividend window won't last forever. We need better cross-border recognition of our professional qualifications. Our doctors, engineers, and architects are world-class, but without mutual recognition agreements, they struggle abroad. Hope NITI Aayog also pushes for agreements with countries like the US, UK, and Australia. 🌐
The emphasis on continuous professional development is crucial. Professionals often don't upgrade their skills once they're established. With the pace of technology change, we need mandatory CPD programs and more partnerships with global professional bodies. Good to see India thinking about this strategically!
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.