An article published by Bloomberg says ‘India Has a People Problem’ but ignores some recent, positive developments

An article by Bloomberg published on December 16 under the title ‘India Has a People Problem’ says India is aging faster than expected and wonders if India can become rich before it becomes old.

When it talks about what changing demographics mean for India’s future, it focuses on data from the government, global agencies, as well as industry when it comes to two key points – the quality of education and participation of women in the country’s workforce.

We look at some more information on these two specific aspects to present a more accurate picture.

POINT

The article makes two critical observations about India’s education sector.

‘Meanwhile, India’s education sector is clearly falling. Indian companies are already reporting a shortage of skilled manpower.’

‘In large-scale surveys, employers have said that less than half the college graduates entering the workforce have the cutting-edge skills they need or the ability to pick them up in the workplace,’ the article adds.

COUNTER POINT

The Bloomberg article may well be right about the current status of the education sector. But it overlooks a crucial intervention by the central government barely a year ago to change the situation. This was through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

An article in Moneycontrol on July 29 this year puts this important development in perspective and highlights the following:

* A major change proposed in the education policy is allowing foreign universities to set up campuses in India and giving complete entry-exit flexibility for courses taken by college/university students.

* Some early work has started on this front. Flexible entry and exit grants academic credit for partially completed courses. A student who quits a degree course after one year gets a certificate. A diploma is earned after two years and a degree after three/four years.

* The government wants NEP 2020 to be implemented on the fast track across states, paving the way for a wider choice of subjects in higher educational institutes, setting up education complexes and allowing flexible entry-exit schemes in colleges and universities as part of the first phase.

Read the full article by Moneycontrol

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/national-education-policy-nep-2020-one-year-steady-reforms-miles-to-go-7242741.html

POINT

Just one in five Indian women work, which the World Bank has argued is linked to the social stigma of holding jobs outside home.

COUNTER POINT

The social factor that is being referred to has been talked about frequently in the past as well. There could be another, equally important, reason for this – the age at which women get married in India.

That's set to change soon, with the central government deciding to bring in a law increasing the minimum legal age of marriage for women from 18 years to 31 years, at par with those for men.

The primary social objective is obvious - to prevent under-age marriages of women, thereby ensuring better health and mental well-being of mothers and children. Raising the legal marriage age for women will also ensure gender neutrality.

The inevitable economic impact is equally important. Marrying later will provide women a greater opportunity to pursue higher education and join the workforce.

According to an article in The Indian Express, “The Narendra Modi government decided to re-examine the age of marriage for women for a number of reasons, including gender-neutrality. An early age of marriage, and consequent early pregnancies, also have impacts on nutritional levels of mothers and their children, and their overall health and mental wellbeing. It also has an impact on Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate, and the empowerment of women who are cut off from access to education and livelihood after an early marriage.”

Read the full article in The Indian Express

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/raising-legal-age-for-marriage-for-women-law-reasons-criticism-7675447/