Need to change mindset for economic growth: Sisodia

Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday said his government's initiative 'Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum' will meet the challenge of India's economy and will contribute to its growth.

Sisodia, during an interaction with 200 entrepreneurs, said Delhi's Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum was launched earlier this year in all Delhi government schools for Classes 9 to 12.

"A major component of the programme involves the entrepreneur community of the city to engage with children on a regular basis," Sisodia said.

The 200 entrepreneurs who had responded to the government's open call to the community to participate in the curriculum were invited to interact with the Deputy Chief Minister.

Sisodia said, "India has slipped today from the 5th place to the 7th this year in GDP terms. Regardless of who is running the government, the slowing down of the economy impacts us all as citizens. We will have to work together to change this."

Laying out his government's vision for the Entrepreneurship Mindset curriculum, the Deputy Chief Minister said, "Most of the graduates coming out of our colleges today are job seekers. If this is allowed to continue, India will always remain a job seeker economy. We have to become a job creator economy."

He said when country's best brains get jobs at Microsoft, Adobe, and elsewhere, we consider it a success.

"The only value this adds to our economy is the salaries Indians earn and the taxes they pay. But the profit and income that is generated by these companies and their technologies is routed back to their country of incorporation, not into India," he said.

"It's a matter of pride that Indians are running these large corporations, but we will truly grow as an economy when people around the world begin to work for Indian companies, launched by Indian entrepreneurs. For this, we need to build a job creator economy," he said.

Sisodia said that many top institutions are running entrepreneurship development courses that are teaching students the skills needed to start businesses.

"But what we are lacking in is the mindset of entrepreneurship. Our aim is to instil this mindset at the right stage, that is from Class 9 to 12. This is our mission, it is not a mere government programme. It's a form of patriotism for us." IANS