On Monday, Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee urged the government to invest more in the sectors related to education and research and development.
"Today, not as a former President but as a citizen of India, I want greater investment in education and research and the country will benefit from this," Mukherjee said while delivering endowment lecture at the Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark.
As he urged the government he was also regretful of the fact that budget allocation for the education and R&D sectors are not up to the mark and government needs to be more serious about them.
He cited an example of Germany, who stood strong during the Eurozone crisis. For Germany, it was possible because of their greater focus on R&D area.
"In 1991, the budget on education was six percent of the GDP but in 2018-19 Union budget allocation is just 3.6 percent of the national GDP, though the allocation of Rs 80,500 crore may seem to be a huge sum."
Mukherjee also reminded the government that by 2025 India will have the largest young population with the biggest workforce in the world and it is primary to turn this population into a suitable workforce or there will be a disaster.
"If we are unable to convert this population into a suitable workforce and not able to create jobs by adopting new technologies, then instead of 'demographic dividend' it will be a 'demographic disaster'," Mukherjee
said.
Tags: Education
Education In India
Investment In Education
Investment In Research And Development
