Chandigarh: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the industry lobby, has urged the states in north India to focus on developing educational standards, so that their working-age population can meet the emerging demands in the job market.
CII’s recommendations to the north Indian states were based upon a study done with professional services provider KPMG. According to the study, presently, the region trails the western and southern regions of the country significantly, with an overall literacy rate of 60 percent as against 69 percent and 71 percent in the South and the West. Therefore, the education and skill infrastructure in the region needs to be upgraded.
Further, the report also states that North India needs to upgrade its education system, not only by building capacity, but also making qualitative changes in teaching methods, adding that the system needs to ensure access, equity and inclusive education for all. Demographic data compiled by the study suggests that there would be nearly 106 million people in the age group of 15-24 years in north India by 2016.
This is a clear indication of the fact that about 33.4 million students are likely to enter the higher and vocational education in north India. This will require about USD 84 billion to meet demand-supply challenges in skill and education sectors of the region. The number of industrial training institutes (ITIs) per 100 sq km is 1.7 in the north, compared to 4.7 in the south.
In addition, North India also has lesser number of medical colleges compared to other states like - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat. These states account for 63 percent of total medical colleges and 67 percent of the number of seats in the country.
Harpal Singh, chairman CII Northern Region has said that for the northern region to be at the forefront of India's development. It has to ensure access to education and opportunities for skill development. The north, which is estimated to account for 50 per cent of the population increase between 2001 and 2026, should build itself into a knowledge economy.
Industrial and environmental experts have suggested that, while the north builds up more infrastructure for the future, the need for having a balance between the 'built environment' and the 'natural environment' needs to be kept in mind to sustain it as a green territory.
Mr Singh also added that Blue Economy is the next step in sustainability and talks about development through technology and innovation from the natural resources available for e.g. the development of newer natural based materials for industrial use.
The Blue economy idea has been championed by Gunter Pauli, founder of the Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives (ZERI). Its business models rely on a new generation of entrepreneurs who do not pursue a business strategy based on core competence but who meet the basic needs of a multi-faceted and diverse society with what is available.
According to Mr Singh, contributing 27.1 per cent of India's energy demand, the (north) region is responsible for about 26 per cent of overall emission from the power sector. The region's water resources are also under severe constraint. Therefore, north India must look at the sustainability principle of Pauli and try to adopt some of the processes, which are already being implemented globally.
