💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (August Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Subject: Indian Society

  • [pib] Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT)

    The Union govt. has launched a training module for management of COVID-19 named ‘Integrated Government Online training’ (iGOT) on DIKSHA platform of MHRD.

    About iGOT

    • It is training module for management of COVID-19 on DIKSHA platform for the capacity building of frontline workers to handle the COVID-19 pandemic efficiently.
    • Courses on iGOT have been launched specially for Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, Hygiene Workers, Technicians, Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANMs), State Government Officers, Civil Defence Officers, Various Police Organisations.
    • They are also available to NCC corps, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), NSS volunteers, Indian Red Cross Society, Bharat Scouts and Guides and other volunteers at the stage.

    Back2Basics: DIKSHA Portal

    • HRD ministry has launched Diksha Portal (diksha.gov.in) for providing a digital platform to a teacher to make their lifestyle more digital.
    • It aims to serve as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers.
    • The portal will cover the whole teacher’s life cycle – from the time they were enrolled as student teachers in Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) to after they retire as teachers.
    • It will enable, accelerate and amplify solutions in the realm of teacher education. It will aid teachers to learn and train themselves for which assessment resources will be available.

  • [pib] “Samadhan” Challenge

     

    A mega online challenge – SAMADHAN – has been launched to test the ability of students to innovate.

    “Samadhan” Challenge

    • The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of HRD and All India Council for Technical Education in collaboration with Forge and InnovatioCuris has launched this online challenge.
    • Under the challenge, the students and faculty will be motivated for doing new experiments and new discoveries and provide them with a strong base leading to spirit of experimentation and discovery.
    • The students participating in this challenge will search and develop such measures that can be made available to the government agencies, health services, hospitals and other services for quick solutions to the Coronavirus epidemic and other such calamities.
    • Apart from this, through this challenge, work will be done to make citizens aware, to motivate them, to face any challenge, to prevent any crisis and to help people get livelihood.

  • [pib] Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0

    The Union Minister for Human Resource Development has informed Lok Sabha about the progress of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA).

    Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0

    • Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 is the upgraded version of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 1.0.
    • The scheme is extended to all educational institutes; however, under UBA 2.0 Participating institutes are selected based on the fulfilment of certain criteria.

    About UBA

    • It is a flagship programme of the Ministry of HRD, which aims to link the Higher Education Institutions with a set of at least 5 villages so that these institutions can contribute to the economic and social betterment of these village communities using their knowledge base.
    • It is a significant initiative where all Higher Learning Institutes have been involved for participation in development activities, particularly in rural areas.
    • It also aims to create a virtuous cycle between the society and an inclusive university system, with the latter providing knowledge base; practices for emerging livelihoods and to upgrade the capabilities of both the public and private sectors.
    • Currently under the scheme UBA, 13072 villages have been adopted by 2474 Institutes.

  • The role of women in developing a knowledge economy

    The role of women in developing a knowledge economy

    Context

    Indian economic success requires scientific skills that can foster a knowledge economy, the emergence of which depends on how gender-balanced the workforce is.

    Half the scientific potential squandered

    • The requirement of the skilled workforce: A rapidly growing India requires a highly skilled technical workforce that is crucial for developing a knowledge economy.
      • Unfortunately, half the scientific potential of India—women in science—is squandered.
      • Women make up only 14% of the 280,000 scientists, engineers, and technologists in research and development institutions across the country, according to a recent study.
    • Several barriers in careers: Today, fewer women apply for or hold key scientific positions as several barriers prevent them from progressing in their careers, in comparison with their male counterparts.

    Several unacknowledged factors that disadvantage women

    • There is widespread frustration experienced by women, who find it difficult if not impossible to fulfil their scientific potential.
      • Even today, several factors that disadvantage women are not acknowledged widely enough.
    • What are the difficulties faced by women: Peer-reviewed research reports have indicated that women-
      • Scientists earn less.
      • Have less prestige within departments.
      • Have less lab space.
      • Are offered inadequate jobs on graduating with science degrees and have more teaching responsibilities.
      • They also face greater difficulty in receiving grants and therefore apply for fewer grants in the first place.
    • Imperative to tackle issues: It is imperative to tackle these issues with vigour if India is to take its rightful place among developed nations.

    Lack of informal networks

    • Women tend to lack access to informal networks that provide opportunities to work in high-profile projects.
      • Which include attending conferences abroad or on-the-job opportunities.
    • How it affects them? They lack the work experience that would enable them to rise up the ranks and provide access to the wide range of developmental models that could build the credibility they need to advance.

    Importance of mentor

    • Performance assessment is now an integral part of an organization’s performance management systems, implemented as companies move away from the age-old concepts of training and skill development.
    • How mentors matters? Mentors often help build confidence as well as professional identity in protégés and offer access to developmental opportunities, allowing individuals to demonstrate their ability and gain trust.
      • Mentors keep information channels open and provide feedback on performance in crucial times.
      • It has been noted that almost every successful woman has had a mentor at some time.

    How organizations work culture matters?

    • Unepathetic culture: Organizations often define success by the willingness of their employee to work for long hours and prioritize work over everything else—a “live to work” ideal, generally regarded as more masculine.
      • Group membership as criteria leads to discrimination: When women feel selected or assessed on the basis of group membership rather than their work record and abilities, they experience gender discrimination.
      • Women feel that an unempathetic culture is one of the most significant barriers to their advancement.
    • Gender bias as a major career obstacle: A study highlighted that only 3% of women surveyed regarded family responsibilities as their most serious career obstacle, while 50% cited gender bias.
      • Only 7% of female employees surveyed reported leaving the organization for family reasons, whereas 73% reported leaving because they saw limited opportunities.
      • Quit rate: The quit rates for women were significantly lower in organizations that provided better training and promotion opportunities.
    • The need for the employee-friendly policies: In recent years, we have witnessed an increase in the number of women with children who participate in the country’s paid workforce.
      • An organization’s culture has a significant impact on those who work within it.
      • Unfortunately, not many organizations have revised their work policies or employee expectations to enable women to strike a balance between their work and family responsibilities.
      • Flexible policies: For instance, the internet and telecom revolutions have enabled organizations to introduce employee-friendly policies such as Flexi-work hours and work-from-home that have significantly transformed workplace practices.

    Way forward

    • Need for the realisation of the full potential of women: Science needs the best scientists, and a knowledge economy needs a gender-balanced workforce. This can only be attained by realizing the full potential of women.
    • Reach out to young girls: Apart from being wasteful and unjust, the under-representation of women in science threatens the goal of achieving excellence in the field. To tackle this, we must set an ambitious target of reaching out to 1 million young girls each year and encourage them to take up science and make a difference.
    • Convention of women: A national convention of women in science must be held annually, with a specific focus on discussing and building general awareness around the major challenges that women face.

    Conclusion

    We must mobilize all our resources if India aims to be a $5 trillion economy. The gender imbalance in science and technology is a looming challenge and threatens to weaken our country’s competitive economic position. By addressing these concerns, we can empower and motivate more women to join scientific fields, unlock India’s full potential, and develop the country to become a knowledge economy.

  • World University Rankings by Subject 2020

     

     

    Indian higher-education institutes have improved their performance on the global stage, with a greater number getting ranked in the top-100 programs, according to the latest edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2020.

    Major findings of the report

    • IIT Bombay (44), IIT Delhi (47), IIT Kharagpur (86), IIT Madras (88) and IIT Kanpur (96) found place in top 100 of this category.
    • In the Natural Sciences category, three Indian institutions made it to the top 200: IIT-Bombay at 108th rank closely followed by the IISc, Bangalore at the 111th position, while IIT-Madras scraped in at the 195th rank.
    • Jawaharlal Nehru University remained the country’s top institution in the Arts and Humanities category, with a global ranking of 162, followed at a distance by Delhi University at 231.
    • Delhi University topped the Social Sciences and Management category, with a global ranking of 160, followed by IIT-Delhi at 183.
    • There are no Indian institutions in the world’s top 200 when it comes to Life Sciences and Medicine.
    • The top institution in the country is the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, which had a global ranking of 231.
    • Other top subjects included physics & astronomy with 18 Indian institutes, biological sciences (16), electrical engineering (15), chemical engineering (14) and mechanical engineering (14).
    • MIT, Stanford University and the University of Cambridge has secured top three positions in the Engineering and Technology category.

  • Skill her, skill India

    Context

    On March 8, we honour and celebrate women on the occasion of the International Women’s Day. Women in our country are making strides in social, financial and political fields.

    Women breaking the barriers

    • Women working for the development of the country: Be it the 1857 mutiny for India’s freedom or the struggle for Independence, our women have always made India proud.
      • Even today, women are performing their duties with full devotion for the development of the country and upliftment of society.
      • They are working efficiently in various fields, such as academics, literature, music and dance, sports, media, business, information technology, science and technology, politics and social development.
    • Breaking barriers in various fields: Indian women from metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are breaking barriers in fields ranging from politics to the corporate sector.
    • Giving society a new direction: Women are giving society a new direction through their leadership and critical participation in panchayat elections.
      • Increasing awareness and clear intentions are the reason behind women strengthening economic, social and cultural establishments.
      • This is very important for a democratic system.

    Female participation in the corporate sector

    • IT sector participation: There is a constant evolution of female participation in the corporate sector. Female participation is constantly increasing in the Information Technology sector.
    • Presence in other areas: Along with the IT sector, the presence of women is also increasing in the banking and finance sector.
      • Last year, the Indian Space Research Organisation decided to hand over the command of Chandrayaan-2 to two women, and these women also played a key role in the mission.

    Government schemes for women empowerment

    • Our government is running many schemes for women’s empowerment such as the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Mahila E-haat Scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Sakhi Yojana, Ladli Yojana, Digital Laado and the Swachh Bharat Mission.
    • Government is also working extensively on women’s nutrition.
    • Multiple ministries working on the same: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Women and Child Empowerment, and Human Resource Development are working closely in this regard.
    • Identification of skill set: We know that every person has a unique skill-set. What is needed is a mechanism to ensure that that skill-set is identified and honed in the best possible way.
      • The government need to ensure that all women in our country from different occupations are trained in their respective skill-sets and are employable.
    • Government need to put to best use their skill-set to become self-employed entrepreneurs and progress.
    • Around 68.12 lakh women in India have been trained under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikaas Yojana 2.0.
    • Under the Jan Shikshan Sansthan Scheme, around 08 lakh women have been trained in the 2018-2020 period, while 38.72 lakh women have been trained in Industrial Training Institutes (ITI).
      • At present, there are 18 National Skill Training Institutes across the country to train women. Special batches are being conducted to provide basic, theoretical and advanced training to women.
    • Making progress in non-traditional skills: It is a matter of joy and pride that while women in India are studying electronics, fashion design, technology and business management, there are also those who hone their new-age skills in artificial intelligence, data analytics, 3D printing, etc.
      • Along with traditional skills like beauty, wellness and healthcare, women are also progressing quickly in non-traditional skills such as electronics and hardware.

    The role of various missions in strengthening women’s skill

    • The National Rural Livelihood Mission has strengthened women’s skills and prepared them for employment.
    • Training for self-employed tailors, beauty therapists, customer care executives, hairstylists, yoga trainers, etc. are being carried out in the Prime Minister Skill Centres.
    • Women playing a significant role in various missions: Very soon, one will get to see women playing significant roles in central government schemes such as the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission and Smart City Mission.
      • By joining these missions, women will make a huge contribution in giving a new shape to society.
      • In fact, in the creation of a New India, women’s education and skill development are going to be critical.
    • In the last few years, the central government has rolled out various schemes that have emboldened the women of our country and taken them on the path of self-reliance and security.

    Conclusion

    The efforts of our government have created a milieu of trust in the women of our country. They are confident that the country’s government machinery is standing by them by creating an atmosphere of respect and development for women. In the past few years, our government has made massive advancements in providing education and honing skill-sets. We pledge to make sure that these efforts reach each and every Indian woman.

     

  • A disconnected pedagogy

    Context

    The gap between jobs, needs and knowledge, and the absence of role models, could be turning India’s demographic dividend into a nightmare.

    National curriculum and problems with it

    • What is in our national curriculum? It is a fixed set of topics prescribed in all subjects — from physics to geography, and engineering to planning.
      • And it is taught in English at our elite MHRD institutions.
    • Designed by professionals: It has not been designed by politicians but by our elite professors and bureaucrats: It is what they believe the nation really needs to know.
    • Issue of imposition: It is imposed on ordinary students and parents through competitive exams and on colleges and universities through various central regulatory agencies, most egregiously, through the UGC-NET, an objective-type multiple-choice (!) exam that decides who is fit to be a college teacher.

    Issues with the engineering curriculum

    • Doesn’t address the regional needs: We already know that the national engineering curriculum fails miserably in meeting regional needs.
      • No regional variation accounted for: Engineering for Himachal Pradesh needs to be different from that in Maharashtra or Kerala.
    • Not in sync with the demands of the industry: It must address the needs of core industries, local enterprises, the provisioning of basic amenities such as water and energy.
      • None of this is in our national curricula or practised at the IITs.
      • Moreover, there is no mechanism for engineering colleges to work with their communities.

    Issue with the social science curriculum

    • No interdisciplinary courses: Let us look at the UGC-NET curricula, which is largely what is taught in our elite institutions.
      • At the BA level, it is divided into several disciplines — for instance, political science, sociology and economics.
      • This is unfortunate since much of life in India is interdisciplinary.
      • As a result, many activities such as preparing the balance sheet for a farmer, or analysing public transport needs, and development concerns such as drinking water or even city governance, are given a miss.
    • Example of economics curriculum: The UGC-NET curricula in economics has 10 units, the very last unit is Indian Economics. Unit 8 is on Growth and Development Economics, where the student must know Keynes, Marx, Kaldor, and others.
      • There are various mathematical models, for example, the IS-LM macroeconomic model, whose validity in the Indian scenario is questionable.
      • Absence of important sectors: The study of sectors such as small enterprises or basic economic services such as transportation is absent. The District Economic Survey, an important document prepared regularly by every state for each district, is not even mentioned.

    Sociology curriculum and issues involved

    • Absence of certain important items: There is no preamble nor a list of textbooks or case studies.
      • Under “Social Institutions”, we have a list of timeless words such as culture, marriage, family and kinship.
      • Peasant occurs two times, but there is no farmer. Here is a sample question: “Who uses the phrase ‘fetishism of commodities’ while analysing social conditions?” followed by four names.
    • No mention of important data: There is also no mention of important data sets such as the census or developmental programmes including MGNREGA in either curriculum.

    Conclusion

    • National curricula divorced from the community: The training at our elite institutions, and consequently, in the national curricula, is not to empower ordinary students to probe their lived reality. Or to contribute professionally and constructively to the development problems around us. Rather, it is to perpetuate a peculiar intellectualism which is divorced from the community in which these institutions are embedded.
    • Need to rethink the one-nation-one curriculum: One-nation-one-curriculum certainly has some advantages in enabling mobility of some jobs, especially in the national bureaucracy and a multinational economy.
      • Cost to the developmental needs: But one-nation-one-curriculum comes at the cost of the developmental needs of the states and the emergence of good jobs there.
    • Turning demographic dividend into a nightmare: The above-stated asymmetry is behind the aspirational dysfunction in higher education. It is this disconnect between jobs, needs and knowledge and the absence of role models, which is slowly turning our demographic dividend into a nightmare on the streets.

     

     

     

  • Teaching the teacher

    Context

    Our teacher education system must be aligned with global standards.

    Learning crisis and teacher vacancies in India

    • Teacher education as a status check on schooling education: Comparable to the role of a thermometer in diagnosing fever, an assessment of the quality of teacher education can be a status check on the schooling system.
      • Teachers remain at the heart of the issue, and translating schooling into learning is a critical challenge.
    • The gravity of learning crisis: The learning crisis is evident in the fact that almost half of the children in grade 5 in rural India cannot solve a simple two-digit subtraction problem,
      • While 67 per cent of children in grade 8 in public schools score less than 50 per cent in competency-based assessments in mathematics.
    • Teacher vacancies: India is dealing with a scenario of significant teacher vacancies, which are to the tune of almost 60-70 per cent in some states.
    • In fact, there are over one lakh single-teacher schools present across the country.
    • Excess teachers produced by TEIs: On the other hand, there are 17,000-odd Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) that are responsible for preparing teachers through programmes such as the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), and Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed).
      • 19 lakh teachers every year: Taking their sanctioned intake into account, at full operation, these TEIs could generate over 19 lakh freshly trained teachers every year as against the estimated annual requirement of 3 lakh teachers.
      • To put things in perspective, currently, there are about 94 lakh teachers across all schools in India.
      • Every year, the teacher education system could, therefore, be producing one-fifth of the total number of school teachers.

    The quality aspect of the teachers

    • Poor quality teachers: Not only are these TEIs generating a surplus supply of teachers, but they are also producing poor-quality teachers.
    • Pass percentage in eligibility test below 25%: Besides it being reflected in the dismal state of learning across schools, the pass-percentage in central teacher eligibility tests that stipulate eligibility for appointments as teachers has not exceeded 25 per cent in recent years.
      • This begs a pertinent question — how did we get here?

    What are the reasons for such problems?

    • The answers lie in:  The inadequacies of planning, regulation, policy and organisational structures.
    • The role and issues in NCTE: The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and its four regional committees (north, south, east and west), established by statute, are responsible for teacher education in India.
      • Toothless in terms of powers: The Act assigns disproportionate power to the regional committees which grant programme affiliation while the Council has been rendered toothless.
    • Proliferation of sus-standard TEIs: Perverted incentives, widespread corruption and commercialisation have resulted in a massive proliferation of sub-standard TEIs.
      • In fact, while most of these TEIs are financially unviable, some function out of tiny rooms with duplicate addresses, and a few could even be selling degrees at a fixed price.
      • No system to ensure the entry of meritorious: These institutes function in isolation from the rest of the higher education system, and there is no system to assess and accredit them. Consequently, there is no systemic sieve to ensure the entry of only motivated and meritorious individuals into the teacher education space.
    • Disparity regional spread of TEIs: A more granular look reveals disparities across regions and programmes offered.
      • One-third in UP: Almost one-third of the TEIs are concentrated in Uttar Pradesh.
      • In fact, Ghazipur, a district in UP with a population of around one lakh, has a whopping 300 TEIs.
      • Approximately half of the total TEIs are in the northern region with Rajasthan having the second-largest number of institutes.
    • Poor planning: While there are about 17 recognised teacher education programmes, a majority of TEIs offer only B.Ed and D.El.Ed programmes.
      • This reinforces the point of poor planning as the country is actually facing a shortage of subject teachers in secondary schools and teacher-educators for whom a Master of Education (M.Ed) degree is a requisite (offered in less than 10 per cent of the TEIs).
    • Outdated curriculum: Adding to the mix of challenges is an outdated teacher preparation curriculum framework that was last updated over a decade ago.
    • Regulation by multiple agencies: On the governance front, multiple agencies have oversight on teacher education.

    Way forward

    • Collect the credible data: Any reform initiative must be built on credible data.
      • No data available: To date, there is no accurate real-time database of the number and details of teacher education institutes, students enrolled and programmes offered.
      • How the data can be helpful? Such data could be used to create a comprehensive plan for the sector, devising the optimal number of TEIs, their regional spread and programme-wise intake.
      • One cannot but underscore the significance of proper planning. The teachers will concur.
    • Develop the system of assessment and accreditation: An accurate system of assessment and accreditation must be developed to ensure high-quality teacher education.
      • The National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC), responsible for quality-standards in higher education, has only covered 30 per cent of all institutes since its establishment back in 1994.
      • Given the extensive landscape of the teacher education sector alone and current capacity constraints, it is necessary that multiple accreditation agencies be empanelled.
      • A common accreditation framework should be designed through a consultative process including all relevant stakeholders to facilitate its wider acceptability.
      • A transparent and credible system of accreditation could form the bedrock for weeding out substandard TEIs and propelling quality improvements in the rest.
    • The curriculum of global quality: Core determinant of quality is the curriculum which must be regularly revamped and revised to ensure that our teacher education system is aligned to global standards.
      • Ideally, given that teacher education requires a good mix of curricular inputs and good-quality pedagogy, experts are rightly advocating for a shift towards integrated four-year subject-specific programmes to be housed in multidisciplinary colleges and universities.
      • In the first phase, these may be initiated in select central and state universities.
      • Potential to outsource teachers: This could also potentially serve as an avenue for India to outsource its surplus high-quality teachers to over 70 countries that face a teacher shortage.
    • Administrative will and execution: Finally, reforms must be driven by administrative will and executed through a well-established governance mechanism, clearly establishing ownership and accountability for set work streams across multiple agencies.
      • The draft National Education Policy presents a ray of hope.
      • Its vision to restore integrity and credibility to the teacher education system needs to be translated into effective action.

    Conclusion

    India is estimated to have the largest workforce within the next decade. This means that a population bulge is on the cusp of entering the higher education ecosystem now. The pressing need of the hour is to focus on providing the best quality teacher education to those who aspire to build the future of this country.

     

  • Students Suicides in India

     

     

    Between 2016 and 2018, nearly 10,000 students committed suicide every year in India, data tabled by the Human Resource Development Ministry in Parliament show.

    About the Report

    • HRD Ministry sourced its data from ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India’.
    • The report is based on data provided by the states and UTs.

    Highlights of the Report

    • Maharashtra accounted for 1 in every 7 student suicides in the country — 4,235 out of 29,542 in the three years combined, or about 1,400 a year.
    • Maharashtra had over 1,300 student suicides in each of the three years, while West Bengal was the only other state with over 1,000 in any single year — 1,147 in 2016.
    • In the overall three-year totals, Maharashtra was followed by Tamil Nadu (2,744), Madhya Pradesh (2,658) and West Bengal (2,535).
    • Eight more states totalled over 1,000 student suicides in the three years, with Karnataka the highest among these at almost 2,000.
    • Among the Union Territories, Delhi had 626 student suicides — 211, 212 and 203 in the three successive years.

  • Youth can be a clear advantage for India

    Context

    The demographic dividend is close to five-decade-long demographic opportunities that can be leveraged only with suitable policies and programmes

     The youngest population in the world

    • Median age at 28 years: By 2022, the median age in India will be 28 years.
      • In comparison, it will be 37 in China and the United States.
      • 45 in western Europe, and 49 in Japan.
    • The demographic dividend
      • The working-age population more than non-working: India’s working-age population has numerically outstripped its non-working age population.
      • An extraordinary opportunity: A demographic dividend, said to have commenced around 2004-05, is available for close to five decades.

    The two caveats

    • The demographic dividend is an extraordinary opportunity. There are, however, two caveats.
    • First: Dividend available in different states at different times.
      • India’s population heterogeneity ensures that the window of demographic dividend becomes available at different times in different States.
      • Example of Kerala vs. Bihar: While Kerala’s population is already ageing, in Bihar the working-age cohort is predicted to continue increasing till 2051.
      • Decline in 11 major states by 2031: By 2031, the overall size of our vast working-age population would have declined in 11 of the 22 major States.
    • Second: Many factors that matter for harnessing the dividend
      • Factors that matter: Harnessing the demographic dividend will depend upon the-
      • Employability of the working-age population.
      • Health.
      • Education.
      • Vocational training and skill.
      • Besides appropriate land and labour policies, as well as good governance.
      • Demography is not destiny: India will gain from its demographic opportunity only if policies and programmes are aligned to this demographic shift. Demography is not destiny.

    Need for skills

    • Need for the additional jobs: The Economic Survey 2019 calls for additional jobs to keep pace with the projected annual increases in the working-age population.
    • Lack of education and skills: UNICEF 2019 reports that at least 47% of Indian youth are not on track to have the education and skills necessary for employment in 2030.
      • Possibility of demographic disaster: The projected demographic dividend would turn into a demographic disaster if an unskilled, under-utilised, and frustrated young population undermines social harmony and economic growth.
    • Poor learning outcomes: While over 95% of India’s children attend primary school, the National Family Health Surveys (completed up to 2015-16) confirm that poor infrastructure in government schools, malnutrition, and scarcity of trained teachers have ensured poor learning outcomes.

    What needs to be done?

    • Adopt a uniform school system: A coordinated incentive structure prompting States to adopt a broadly uniform public school system focusing on equity and quality will yield a knowledge society faster than privatising school education can accomplish.
    • Ensure training in line with the market demand: Most districts now have excellent broadband connectivity-
      • Let geography not trump demography: Irrespective of a rural or urban setting, the public school system must ensure that every child completes high school education, and is pushed into appropriate skilling, training and vocational education in line with market demand.
    • Invest and modernise: Modernise school curricula, systematically invest in teacher training so that they grow in their jobs to assume leadership roles while moving beyond the tyranny of the syllabus.
    • Use of technology: Deploy new technology to accelerate the pace of building human capital by putting in place virtual classrooms together with massive open online courses (MOOCS) to help prepare this huge workforce for next-generation jobs.
      • Investing in open digital universities would further help yield a higher educated workforce.

    Focus on women

    • Translating literacy into skill: Growing female literacy is not translating into relevant and marketable skills.
      • A comprehensive approach is needed to improve their prospects vis-à-vis gainful employment.
      • Need of the flexible policies: Flexible entry and exit policies for women into virtual classrooms, and into modules for open digital training, and vocational education would help them access contemporary vocations.
    • The need for equal pay: Equal pay for women will make it worth their while to stay longer in the workforce.
    • The deferred bonus: Economist Yogendra Alagh has written that the significance of this “deferred bonus” (women entering the workforce), could be higher than the immediate benefits of the dividend from shifts in population age structure.

    Health care

    • In India, population health is caught between the rising demand for health services and competition for scarce resources.
    • Impact of economy on rural health: The National Sample Survey Office data on health (75th round, 2018), shows that a deep-rooted downturn in the rural economy is making quality health-care unaffordable.
      • People are availing of private hospitals less than they used to, and are moving towards public health systems.
      • Diverting public investment from However, central budget 2020-21 lays emphasis on private provisioning of health care which will necessarily divert public investment away from public health infrastructure.
    • The Ayushman Bharat Yojana: It links demand to tertiary in-patient care.
      • This promotes earnings of under-utilised private hospitals, instead of modernising and up-grading public health systems in each district.
    • We need to assign 70% of health sector budgets to integrate and strengthen primary and integrated public health-care services and systems up to district hospital levels.
      • Include out-patient department and diagnostic services in every health insurance model adopted, and-
      • Implement in ‘mission mode’ the Report of the High-Level Group, 2019, submitted to the XV Finance Commission.
    • The elderly population in India is projected to double from 8.6% in 2011 to 16% in 2040.
      • This will sharply reduce the per capita availability of hospital beds in India across all major States unless investments in health systems address these infirmities.

    Conclusion

    The policies that we adopt and their effective implementation will ensure that our demographic dividend, a time-limited opportunity, becomes a boon for India.