It was a historic moment when India assumed the presidency of the high-profile G-20 on December 1, even as the world struggles to emerge from the combined shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, supply chain disruptions, accelerated climate disorders and socio-economic uncertainties from galloping inflation and interest rates.
G-20 is the most influential grouping of nations for international cooperation, representing two-thirds of the global population, 85 per cent of GDP, and 75 per cent of world trade.
One of the key areas for the developing world would be the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are 17 SDGs, including poverty eradication, better health infrastructure, quality education, gender equality, zero hunger, clean water, sanitation, clean and affordable energy and life below water. It would be an opportunity to showcase attainable progress in these areas through digital technologies with India's experience.
As Prime Minister Modi has stressed, India wants its presidency to be inclusive, decisive and action-oriented. He has underlined digital inclusion over the next decade and "data for development" to be an integral part of "One Earth, One Family, One Future."
It has been recognised that there must be a win-win collaboration among all developing and advanced countries for accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth on SDGs.
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One of the key components of SDGs is education which is a basic human right and foundation to build on inclusivity, gender equality and sustainable development. The education sector is the backbone of other SDGs too. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, the education sector suffered the most, hitting vulnerable sections of society, especially girls. Fortunately, with more than half of its population using the internet, India has been pivoting the digital wave, which it can share and help other developing nations transform their education sector.
During its G-20 presidency, India can focus on multiple themes within SDGs such as inclusive, equitable, and sustainable growth; women's empowerment; digital public infrastructure and tech-enabled development in areas ranging from health, agriculture, education, e-commerce, skill-mapping, culture, tourism, climate financing; ESG, circular economy, global food and energy security, and multilateral reforms. Building a skilled workforce can be the common interlink between all these global issues and employment.
The future of work requires advanced and affordable technical and soft transferrable skills. Giving children early access to these skills and consolidating their knowledge would be pertinent in cultivating a future-ready workforce. That also is the focus of India's new National Education Policy 2020 – a milestone to be highlighted in the education sector to the G-20 partners. With an average 7-8 per cent GDP annual growth, the nation has driven consistent economic and technological progress, despite the global pandemic and geopolitical challenges.
The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in severe learning loss in most developing countries, impacting the ability of the youth to contribute to the workforce. According to the World's Learning Poverty Index 2019, 55 per cent of school-going children could not read and understand a small age-appropriate text by class 5 or 10. Therefore, to prepare its youngest and largest workforce in the world, India needs to focus on the grassroots – Empower, Upskill, and Re-skill its workforce by redefining its education system, as stipulated in NEP-2020, which may also be an inspiration for the other member nations. With the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world and Indian-origin CEOs of the 40 largest global MNCs, there is great respect for India's education system.
Given this rich legacy, there is a need to emphasise STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) talent, which is India's forte and needs greater thrust for innovation and a new-age economy. It must be ensured that the supply of a "STEM skilled" workforce does not lag behind the growing demand in our own country while other developing countries also look to India for support.
According to OECD's International Migration Outlook 2022 Report, of the total students studying abroad in 2018, 79 per cent of them were pursuing STEM subjects in the USA. The number of students leaving the country is expected to increase from 0.77 million in 2019 to 1.8 million in 2024. These numbers bring out the issue of the need for supplementing opportunities at home, scattered skills and accessibility.
This raises a question - Can private ed-tech players help plug this STEM brain drain problem?
During its G-20 Presidency, India, as the global leader, can showcase and help other developing nations build on education, trade, technology, and the economy, with blended learning and collaboration.
It has been established that any visual information can be processed 60,000 times faster than text, and humans remember only 20 per cent of what they read. Educational technologies must factor into learning outcomes, not merely impart education.
India has a unique opportunity to demonstrate its acclaimed potential as the world leader in this space at this moment. Given India's achievements in the digital world and Ed-tech, it can not only push education widely among the learners in India with inclusivity but also help other developing countries.
The writer is a former India Executive Director of the World Bank, Secretary to Govt. of India and Chairman of CCI
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
