NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the youth of a country could be an asset only if a nation invests in their capabilities while stating that the time had come for India to embark on a "second wave of institution building." Launching the Knowledge Commission, he said: "Denied this investment, it [the youth] will become a social and economic liability."

Referring to the oft-repeated observation of the 21st Century being a "Knowledge Century," Dr. Singh said: "I believe this proposition implies that it is not military power or economic power that will in fact determine a nation's place in the world now in the making but its brain power."

Conceding the fiscal and administrative challenges that India would have to tackle to provide access to quality education at all levels, the Prime Minister said: "At the bottom of the `knowledge pyramid' the challenge is one of improving access to primary education. At the top of the `pyramid' there is a need to make our institutions of high education and research world class."

About the resource crunch facing education, Dr. Singh said though the funds constraint in the public sector was being neutralised in part by the private sector, together they were unable to cope with the demand for higher and professional education, particularly vis-a-vis quality. "Our universities and centres of excellence are falling behind the best in the world both in terms of human capital and physical infrastructure."

Given the vast pool of qualified English-speaking scientific and technical manpower in India, the Prime Minister was of the view that the nation should set itself the goal of becoming a large base of research and development (R&D) activity. "We should be able to attract global investment into R&D activity at home. We should put in place the required legal and physical infrastructure that can attract more foreign investment in R&D activity in India," he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail