India`s Human Resources - From Raw Numbers To Real Resource

  1. We often talk in superlative terms about India's illiteracy or great achievements of IIT's, IIM's or the 54% below 25 youthful population.
    IIT's, IIM's are good; but in terms of numbers of students covered in a vast country like India, they are miniscule. Therefore it is not enough to consider IIT's or IIM's alone as a national policy.
    India's youth is asset or burden. It depends on how we shape them. Therefore we need to consider some facts and figures. This small write up below is an attempt to provide a reasonable full and true picture.
  2. I firmly believe that after nearly six decades after independence, we should not be talking about small experiments and a pilot attempt such as 10 Universities being adopted by the seven or eight departments. We have about 200 Universities, 1800 engineering colleges 800 MBA institutions, and 30,000 other colleges (arts, science and commerce). Even this number is very small to cover a large percentage of youth (in comparison with 30-40% of eligible youth getting 3 to 4 year higher education beyond K12 in developed countries and in comparison with the large effort by China to 'pump in' engineers / professionals to face modern economy). To 'pooh pooh' this huge large private sector effort to give higher education in India as poor quality does not stand empirical facts because it is these graduates who are the great work force of India's knowledge giants like TCS, Infosys, WIPRO, TATA, Birla, Reliance group of companies and PSU's and they also succeed in USA, Europe etc. In numbers IIT's, IIM, IISc, BITS Pilani, persons are miniscule; they have their own role to play.
  3. While we need to ensure that elite institutions that IIT's etc do not suffer, the most urgent need is to help many of the colleges all over India to raise their averages continuously every year. Their contributions by providing educated men and women (through not of excellent class) in a large scale to run Indian economy is the single most great contribution. If one were to calculate the output utility to investment, their performance in economics and social terms are much higher than National Labs and other elite educational institutions together, because of the sheer scale of operations.
    It will be a great service to Indian people if this huge system (which is also emancipatory for many youth by preparing them for global or globally linked job thus giving them better life) is helped to improve each year (not in terms of pilot experiments which will take yugas to cover all of them). Also more institutions of higher learning need to be created. Innovative administrative systems and technologies can help the process. That will require freedom from unitary institutions like UGC, AICTE and even controls by the ruling Universities.
  4. That brings us to the role of national laboratories. (Let us leave IIT, IIM's, IISc alone to innovate by themselves) without adding more to them thus making them lose their lusture. Most national labs are not productive either in terms of giving commercially relevant intellectual property or making India proud in basic discoveries. Economically, socially (and administratively) better way is to use the professionals of these national labs to upgrade the higher educational system (colleges Universities etc) and also helping the students to play with the excellent facilities they have got with Central govt (tax payers) money. A few of the national labs who are capable and willing can be given a commercial orientation by funding them through industries in joint projects. Those of the national labs which are excellent in global standards ought to be given more autonomy and funds to do more excellent work and grow in directions they like to go.
  5. As far as industries are concerned the existing restrictive procedures of Indian Govt against Indian Industry developed products) should change. Then they will venture into R&D of their own with their funds. Only then talents from our elite and other institutions will be used effectively by our Industries. Then India can generate intellectual capital which can pay rich dividends.
  6. The above suggestions cover, the upper part of Indian youth. It is also crucial to address the bottom 90% youth who come out every year (about 18 million per annum) in the age of 15 years into the economy without any preparation except for their physiological endowments and an innate survival driven subsistence entrepreneurship. They need special attention in terms of giving them relevant skills and some seed money to start life. We also need to provide mechanism for entrepreneurial youth from the upper layers discussed above to organize these persons and giving venture capital to them for such organizing venture, so that newer systems for the 90% will emerge. For example some of innovative MBA's, Engineers, Chartered Accounts etc can form small companies to organize these 90% youth on the above lines; provide market access etc. Such young persons cannot do much today, though willing, because of risks involved and they do not have capital.
  7. To summarise India needs fast actions.
    • Leave IIT, IIM, IISc etc alone to explore themselves. No Govt control on them. Just give committed money and more automany.
    • Of the thousands of existing colleges help them to raise their average higher by innovative technologies and giving them administrative autonomy from UGC, AICTE etc.
    • Enable more college to come up. Allow FDI, Pvt Sector etc. Whoever is ready to invest. Their starting point to be above the average level of (2). Don't do fee control. Let investors put more money and create world class institutions and Indians are ready to pay these fees. Let us not forget that 5 Billion is annual remittance to foreign Universities from Indians.
    • Remove the existing tender/procedural bottle necks for Indian Industry to give their R&D based product's / Services to Govt. Give them a level playing field. Identify those labs that are excellent in global standards, give them greater autonomy to excel. Then alone Indian Industry will try to use the Human Resource produced by Indian institutions to create Intellectual Capital from India.
    • Change to role of other performing laboratories. Ask them to choose the job of raising averages of colleges (see (2) above) or go commercial - work for industries as described above. For thoser who for the latter give a large amount of autonomy.]
    • Give a great fillip to Skill Development Initiative needed for 90% youth. CII has started it.
    • Give global level skills
    • Give Seed money for those who are skilled (pico- credits ie micro-micro-credits)
    • Also create Special Venture Capital for young Indian entrepreneur to organise these Skilled Indians for value addition, self- employment and as a Global Human Resource Cadre.
    • Reduce Promise - Potential - Performance Hiatus by rewarding performers and with some disincentives to non - performers.

(Y.S.Rajan)