Editorial 1 : A Crisis in the Making
Context: India’s asset-less, ageing population with poor health is a crisis in the making
India’s Demographic Advantage
- India’s population has reached its demographic prime.
- Around 67.3% of our population is between 15-59 years of age, a demographic advantage which will persist for another three decades.
- Approximately 26% of the population is below 14 years, and just 7% above the age of 65, as against 17% in the US and 21% in Europe.
- By 2030, India’s working age population will reach 68.9%, with a median age of 28.4 years and a dependency ratio of just 31.2%.
- In absolute numbers, India, with 1.04 billion working age persons, will constitute the largest workforce in the world.
Turning Demography into Dividend
- But these large demographic numbers can translate into dividends only with high productivity that drives wealth creation, mainly through high technology, innovative information technology, high-end new-age services, R&D driven innovation, healthcare and life sciences.
- The capacity can only develop with right education and skills, which require cognitive power and physical health.
- Both start developing at foetal stage and continue developing through childhood and adolescence into adulthood, with proper health, nutritional and educational care.
- Only then can the demographic dividend have the capacity for higher learning, superior skills and qualifications to fit contemporary job requirements.
Challenges in Leveraging the Demographic Dividend
- Education and Skill Gap
- As per NFHS 5, among our present demographic dividend (15-49 years), only 41% women and 50.2% men have 10 years plus schooling.
- Only 34% girls and 35.9% boys of age 15-24 have completed 12 years or more education.
- The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) (Rural) 2023, found that nationally, only 77% in the 17-18 years category could read Class 2 textbooks, and 35% could do division.
- Learning trajectory over Grades V, VI, VII and VIII was relatively flat, meaning that there was little difference in learning levels within these grades.
- Despite several ongoing skilling programmes, employers are unable to find the skills they want, and unemployment rates of educated youth remain high.
- Health and Nutrition Concerns
- 57% women and 25% men are anaemic.
- 18.7% women and 16.2% men have Body Mass Index below normal.
- Between the age group 15-24, 59% girls and 31% boys are anaemic, and only 54.9% girls and 52.6% boys have normal BMI.
- As per NFHS 5, 35.5% children below five years are stunted, 19.3% are wasted, 32.1% are underweight; and 67.1 per cent children between 6-59 months are anaemic.
- Only 11.3% children aged 6-23 months receive minimal adequate diet, improved from 9.6% as in NFHS 4.
Consequences
- Under-nutrition, poor health and morbidity, prevents children and adolescents from achieving their complete cognitive and physical potential, and thereafter prevents them from acquiring the education and skills required for emerging higher end job market.
- India will start ageing with each passing year after 2030 with the workforce population declining and the ageing population increasing.
- A growing skill-less, asset-less, ageing population in poor health can become India’s greatest future burden.
Way Forward: Recommendations
- Health and Nutrition
- Improve maternal and child nutrition programs to ensure adequate diets for children under 2 years.
- Tackle anaemia among adolescents and adults through fortified foods and health programs.
- Expand public health infrastructure to address under-nutrition and related morbidities.
- Education and Skill Development
- Strengthen foundational learning through early education programs.
- Improve learning outcomes in Grades V-VIII, as seen in the flat trajectory (ASER Report).
- Expand access to quality secondary and higher education, especially for adolescents (15-24 years).
- Skilling Programs
- Align skilling programs with emerging job market requirements in high-end technology, services, R&D, and healthcare.
- Focus on cognitive development and employability skills to increase productivity.
Conclusion: A sound foundation of better nutrition, health and education will enable our demographic dividend to capitalise future economic and job-market opportunities.
Editorial 2 : Scholars Without Borders
Context: One Nation One Subscription could take high-quality research beyond elite institutes.
Introduction: Government approved the Pradhan Mantri-One Nation One Subscription (PM-ONOS) scheme.
Overview of the PM-ONOS Scheme
- The scheme is designed to provide all government Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and research institutions access to over 13,000 e-journals from 30 of the world’s most prominent publishers. Such access spans disciplines including STEM, medicine, management, social sciences, and the humanities, offering an unprecedented expansion of knowledge.
- It will grant access to a vast collection of scholarly research e-journals, marking a transformative moment for students, researchers, and academic institutions across India, especially those from the country’s less-endowed institutions.
Existing Consortia Landscape and ONOS's Role
- Current Situation: Approximately 2,400 institutions currently benefit from subscriptions through 10 different library consortia managed by various government ministries and departments.
- Key Consortia and Managing Bodies
- Ministry of Education (E-Shodh Sindhu - ESS, largest consortium serving ~2,000 institutions).
- Department of Science and Technology.
- Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
- Other departments/ministries (Biotechnology, Agricultural Research and Education, Earth Sciences, Atomic Energy, Space, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Health & Family Welfare).
- Limitations of the Existing Model: Fragmented access, discipline-specific subscriptions.
- ONOS's Solution: Centralized access to resources across all disciplines, including central universities, state public universities, and government-supported colleges.
Key Impacts and Benefits of ONOS
- Increased Institutional Coverage: Over 160% increase in the number of beneficiary institutions.
- Expanded Access for Medical Colleges: Inclusion of all government medical colleges, addressing the gap in ERMED coverage (currently only 74 medical colleges, including 14 out of 26 AIIMS).
- Promotion of Research Culture in Tier-2 and Tier-3 HEIs: Providing equitable access to resources.
- Cross-Disciplinary Research: Facilitating access to journals outside specific disciplines, enabling multidisciplinary research.
- Alignment with National Policies: Supports the objectives of NEP 2020 and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, emphasizing multidisciplinary education and research.
- Enhanced Research Quality and Innovation: Removal of disciplinary silos is expected to drive higher-quality research and innovation contributing to social and economic development.
- High Fulfilment Rate: ONOS ensures 98-100% fulfilment of e-journal requirements for most consortia.
Future Plans and Considerations
- Expansion to Private HEIs: Plans to expand to private higher education institutions through a public-private partnership model, subject to approvals.
- Future Models: Exploring new models like transformative agreements (combining subscription costs with open-access publishing).
- Strategic Approach to Open Access: ONOS is presented as a practical, India-specific solution to expand knowledge access while working towards a sustainable global open-access model.
- Alignment with International Principles: Aligned with Article 27 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights regarding open access to knowledge.
Conclusion: By expanding access to scholarly resources, ONOS will empower students, faculty, and researchers to push the boundaries of knowledge and innovation. It presents great opportunities to state universities that do not possess the financial strength of many elite institutions in the country. It has the potential to be a game-changer in the knowledge ecosystem.