In shifting global landscape, India’s human capital is key

At the dawn of independence in 1947, India had nearly 340 million people, a literacy rate of 14%, a life expectancy of 32 years, 17 universities, over 600 colleges, nearly 140,000 schools, and a gross enrolment ratio below 1%.

- C Raj Kumar

Education was undoubtedly the privilege of a few. There was limited public investment in education. Since independence, education has been recognised as India's most consequential and transformative socioeconomic instrument. It has also positioned India at a civilisational inflection point-transcending from access to excellence, from scale to quality, and most importantly, from privilege to entitlement. India in 2025 is a transformed landscape, with a population of 1.46 billion people, a median age of 28 years, and the world's largest youth population.

But the most significant achievement is the attainment of an 80% literacy rate. India's education sector expansion reflects a growing national recognition of education's direct correlation to human development. Today, India has more than 1,100 universities, 45,000+ colleges, over 1.5 million schools, and a Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education of 28%, with female GER exceeding male GER.

India is entering a new social and economic order which will be shaped by education. The next 25 years will have a direct bearing on whether we can convert our demographic dividend into human capital and whether, and in what form, education can support innovation, democracy, and social cohesion. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will serve as the North Star, guiding us by providing the philosophical foundation and the structural compass for shaping India's future. Five trends will shape that journey.

Rebuilding the foundations of early childhood and school education

We are now aware that 85-90% of brain development occurs before six. Learning gaps that are created early become inevitable factors for structural inequalities later. Foundational literacy and numeracy have a direct correlation to lifelong learning, employment outcomes, and mental resilience. The ASER (Pratham) reports have demonstrated consistently that Grade 5 students struggle with Grade 2 competencies.