India's challenges and opportunities to emerge as great power in 21st

century
Corporate leaders point of view
In today’s digital world, as technology evolves, so does business. Due to this, the challenges
faced by top leaders in a company have also become dynamic. The challenges that Indian
companies are facing are as follows:
1. Shifting Realities: About 65 percent of India’s 1.2 billion people are between 15 and
64 years old, and 30 percent of the population is made up of those younger than 15.
This widely recognized “demographic dividend” should have given Indian companies
a significant advantage in the form of a sizable pool of qualified applicants. But in
reality, India lacks the educational institutions it needs, from the earliest years to the
post-college level. Thus, even though thousands of Indian university graduates enter
the workforce every year, they are often not “industry ready” or equipped in the skills
of global business.

2. Looking for Leaders: In its latest report titled 'Leadership Development Trends
2019', Mercer-Mettl, India's leading talent assessment firm revealed that around 80
percent of the organisations in India are currently facing a leadership talent shortage
either because the present leaders are on the verge of retiring or because millennials
prefer to change jobs frequently.

3. Insufficient training for new recruits: The lack of a competency-based leadership

development process as the primary cause behind inefficient leadership development
programs. Many Indian companies struggle with new-hire “onboarding” programs.
Often, the incoming class of MBA recruits is not sufficiently integrated into the
broader workforce, and companies put too much hope too early on these new hires’
shoulders.
Opportunities that’ll help Corporates in supporting India’s development in 21st century are
as follows:
1. New policies: There are a number of policy announcements in the Budget which
would boost the corporate sector in India. These include the abolition of Dividend
Distribution Tax, the exemption on interest, dividends and capital gains for
investment in infrastructure projects by sovereign wealth funds (that will help to tap
into global pools of capital) and the relaxation in the limits of foreign portfolio
investment in corporate bonds from 9% to 15% (of the outstanding value of the
bonds). This will increase investments in the Indian bond market.

2. Skills Upgradation: It is well recognised that the best way to boost consumption is to
increase good quality jobs in the formal economy. The complaint is that many
companies find students graduating without the necessary jobs skills. ‘Unemployable’
is the common refrain. The budget earmarked Rs 99,300 crore for education sector in
2020-21 and about Rs 3,000 crore for skill development. The Budget also talks about
skill upgradation and also moots the concept of having bridge courses for categories
 like teachers, nurses and other semi-skilled workers who are much in demand in
foreign countries.

3. Boosting Entrepreneurship: Besides the infra boost, the government has proposed
an investment of Rs8,000 crore ($1.1 billion) over five years in its national mission on
quantum technologies and applications. Entrepreneurs believe this could go a long
way in giving a boost to the Indian economy. Additionally, one of the most significant
announcements in the budget was the proposal to bring out a policy to allow private
companies to build data-centre parks.
“The government is determined to transform the country into a digitally empowered
society,” said Mahesh Ramamoorthy, managing director for banking and payments
across Asia Pacific, west Asia and Africa, at fintech solutions firm FIS. This proposed
policy could bring in technology, investment, and employment opportunity in the
country while providing a platform for structured data storage and security. And,
through leveraging economies of scale one can witness a lower cost of data.
Aside from the employees, startups themselves were also served tax reliefs. The
budget promoted increasing the turnover limit from existing Rs25 crore to Rs100
crore for startups that are allowed the deduction of 100% of profits for three
consecutive assessment years out of seven years.

I want to be a leader because according to me I possess the most innate trait required
to be a successful leader and that is I am a great listener and for the communication to
be effective and bear a fruitful result, one has to clearly listen to the voice of not only
the group but individual team members as well. According to me, if you can
understand the voices of your team members, half of the task is already accomplished.
Adaptability is another so called trait that is often highlighted in one’s personality that
differentiates a leader from a follower. I was fortunate enough to showcase my
adaptability skills in our annual fest last year. My event was scheduled in the morning
slot and it got shifted to a night slot. One of a kind special slot because of a technical
problem in the schedule. We could have easily refused or protested, but I chose to go
with such a change. I was able to influence my team members as they were reluctant
at first for such an adverse change. I owe this to my greatest influence of all time, my
idol, Elon Musk. His decision making skills and vision is unmatched. When he
decided to save both of his companies (Tesla and SpaceX) with very little personal
savings, he was first mocked at but later on praised for this decision. And this is what
leadership is all about, that personal edge, the amount of self-belief you have even in
the most insane decisions you’ll ever make.
I see myself as a dependable person. Being part of two clubs and holding positions of
importance, gives me an edge over others. Much more than the position in itself,
being able to guide different teams within a club speaks about my ability to influence
others towards a common goal.