Emerging sectors in India are facing talent crunch

Question: Unemployment amongst the youth is creating social unrest all over the world. Apart from skilling the unemployed, what should be done by Governments to face this challenge?

Answer: It is ironical that while millions of candidates enter the employment market every year, companies in key emerging sectors are facing a talent crunch. The demand for digital talent in India is about eight times the size of the available talent pool and this gap will increase to twenty times by 2024. Young people have to themselves acquire expertise in emerging technologies if they want to have high paying and rewarding jobs. These emerging technologies are in the field of artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud adoption and data analytics. AI is an advanced technology that is being deployed in banking, retail business, education, healthcare and even by governments. For example, in the healthcare and life sciences sectors, AI tools supplement physician efficiency, offer documentation assistance and provide clinical decision support. Blockchain technology is of great assistance for the manufacturing sector as well as for those engaged in providing financial services. Cloud adoption is in great demand as it helps to improve customer engagement and asset management. Data analytics has been found to be of great use in the telecom sector as well as in other industries. For job seekers, it is a great opportunity that can help them to prepare for the future.

With electric cars becoming more and more popular, the disposal of electric batteries used for these cars may create a huge environmental problem. Is hydrogen fuel going to be the ultimate answer to solving the problem of pollution?

According to the US Senate Committee report on energy and natural resources, use of hydrogen for transportation provides the most promising result because it leaves no ozone depleting chemicals, no acid rain and no nuclear waste. For the automobile sector, the advantage of using hydrogen is far greater as compared to using batteries. The tanks needed to store hydrogen are far lighter than the battery packs for plug-in electric cars. Low weight and more energy make it possible for hydrogen fuel cell cars to travel longer distances without refuelling. Further, you can refuel a car using hydrogen in a few minutes, while charging a battery takes hours. It is expected that railway diesel engines would be replaced with hydrogen fuel cell engines. In future, ships and airplanes will also use hydrogen fuel which will reduce environmental pollution by more than two-thirds. It is a matter of time before the greener type of hydrogen made with wind or solar energy becomes cheap and abundant. An expert analysis indicates that that green hydrogen will become competitive in three years.

During the pandemic couples who have been residing in two countries are facing difficulties at the time of marriage as well as divorce. I believe some Courts in India have taken a constructive view both at the time of marriage and divorce. Do you have some information regarding this?

Earlier this year, the Delhi and Kerala High Courts have permitted couples to register their marriage through video conferencing as personal appearance in the Family Court was not possible. Likewise, a Mumbai Court granted divorce by mutual consent to a wife who was stuck in Dubai and the husband in Bali. Thus, Courts in India are taking a very pragmatic view instead of being bound by legal rules. There is a pendency of more than 40 million cases in Family Courts all over India. Hence, the digital route is being increasingly resorted to in order to tackle the backlog of cases. When a marriage is to be registered under the Special Marriage Act, a 30-day notice has to be given which has to be published. In a seminal judgment, the Allahabad High Court held in January this year that this 30-day notice affected the fundamental rights of the parties to liberty and privacy and the notice should be published only if both parties give their consent to the Marriage Officer.

H. P. Ranina is a practicing lawyer, specialising in tax and exchange management laws of India.