Budget silent on best class education for youth

By Dr Jitin Chadha

While it is heartening to see the Government finally focusing on the most crucial areas of higher education and research, through initiatives like the National Research Foundation and the allocation for developing world-class institutions which will pay rich dividends in the long run, I don't think the problem of human capital formation in the next 5-10 years has been adequately addressed. The Budget has shown a willingness to bring in foreign funding and expertise in areas like aviation and insurance but is silent on steps to harness best-in-class higher education from across the world and make it accessible for our youth. This is crucial because we find ourselves faced with the contemporaneous challenges of a rapidly growing yet grossly under-skilled workforce. We must alleviate this relatively quickly so that they can start helping the country reap a demographic dividend.

Union Budget 2019 | Get the live news updates, views & analysis here

The author is Founder and Director of Indian School of Business & Finance (ISBF)