A glance at Indian history reveals that India was not only a knowledge society but also an industrial society. Our intellectuals and researchers were called rishis. India was a rich and prosperous country, no wonder, we have had plenty of invasions between 300 BC and 1600 AD. 

It is an accepted fact that India's share in the world GDP was 25%. It establishes that India had both knowledge and skill to manufacture products of outstanding quality. From 1700 AD, it deteriorated gradually till independence. After independence, India's contribution to World GDP has steadily increased from 1.3% to 3.28%. The US and China contribute 24 and 15% respectively. 

Today, people are talking about India becoming a super power within the next decade. They focus on demographic dividend. India has a young population. China and the US have ageing population. Japan has negative population growth. Current Indian population is near 140 crores and is growing at 1% every year. The Centre for Monitoring the Economy claims that only 50% of the eligible work force between the ages 18 to 60 is finding work. It means, 35 crore people are underemployed or unemployed. To this pool of unemployed/unemployable people, India will need to find work for 1.4 crores people joining the pool each year, additionally.

It will be impossible for the government or the industry to create that many jobs at the current level of economic activity.

At the start of your education, if you are aware of the reality in the job market, you could approach your education from that perspective. A good mechanic can repair a car/ motorcycle, but cannot design and build one. Your orientation should be such that you concentrate on theory and develop applications for those concepts.

If India were to capitalise on demographic dividend, students need to acquire knowledge and also skill to put the knowledge to proper use. This will be possible only when students yearn to become self employed rather than seek employment.

Student community should focus on problems of society and relentlessly pursue to find optimal solutions. If this is done for the next decade we will be able to reduce the gap between India and the 2 leading world economies.

About the Author

Hanumantha Rao K.

B.E (A.U), LLB,

Ex---Capt Indian army.

Note:Opinions expressed by authors are their own.

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