AM Naik, Larsen & Toubro Group Chairman and National Skill Development Corporation chief, said the government needed to take urgent steps to ensure job creation and that even skilled people were finding it difficult to find a suitable job in times of slowdown in the economy. The government should focus on building a consumption-driven economy, he said, adding that to boost economic development, it was necessary to fund the industrial growth.

Naik, during an interview, said that job creation could only be boosted if the Centre took steps to ensure economic development and more utilisation of industrial capacity. "Many industries have closed or are partially utilised, or working on certain days of the week, or just one shift a day," said Naik, adding that even though there's gross underutilisation of industry, there was a great demand for growth for a country of 1.3 billion people.

He also said the economic slowdown in India would also not help those seeking jobs abroad, as the economy in the Middle East is also sliding and "employability" is also not high. He said the biggest challenge in making youth job-ready is to give them the right training. "Some of the countries that were most devastated in world wars emerged as the most industrialised nations, because of most of their people went for skill training; we need good quality skill training," Naik told.

Naik was recently appointed as the Non-executive Chairman of Mindtree, with effect from July 18. Apart from being in the industry for over 55 years, Naik is also a strong believer in "giving back to society". Notably, the Larsen & Toubro patriarch donates a huge part of his wealth for charity, driven by his resolve to 'give back to society' in memory of his two-year-old granddaughter who surrendered to cancer more than a decade ago.

Named after his granddaughter 'Nirali', who died in 2007, he has set up Nirali Memorial Trust as well as the Nirali Memorial Radiation Centre in Surat to help other cancer victims. "I consider myself fortunate to be in a position to give back to the society that has given me so much. If I can, in some measure, help to relieve pain, alleviate suffering and provide care to those most in need, my efforts would be richly rewarded," Naik had earlier said.