Analysis of The Indian Express Editorial – December 17, 2024

Analysis of The Indian Express Editorial 1 : A Crisis in the Making

India stands at a critical juncture. While its demographic advantage positions it as a global powerhouse, the looming challenge of an ageing, asset-less population with poor health threatens its future. This article delves into India’s demographic dynamics, its potential for economic growth, and the obstacles that must be addressed to avoid a looming crisis.

Context

India’s population dynamics are a study in contrasts. On one hand, nearly 67.3% of the population falls within the productive age group of 15-59 years, while just 7% is above 65—a stark advantage compared to ageing populations in countries like the US and Europe. By 2030, India’s working-age group will grow even larger, accounting for 68.9% of the population, with a median age of 28.4 years.

However, the advantages of a youthful population are not automatic. Without investments in health, nutrition, and education, the potential for growth could remain untapped. India also faces a ticking clock—by 2030, it will begin its transition to an ageing population, which will bring new economic and social challenges. The current state of under-nutrition, poor health outcomes, and gaps in education highlight the urgent need for action.

Introduction

India’s demographic structure presents a unique opportunity—a large working-age population poised to fuel economic growth. This “demographic dividend” gives India an edge on the global stage, with its young workforce positioned to dominate industries such as technology, innovation, and healthcare. However, beneath this optimistic surface lies a potential crisis. A significant portion of India’s population struggles with poor health, insufficient education, and limited skills—factors that can undermine its economic future.

This article explores how India can turn its demographic advantage into a sustainable dividend, the challenges standing in the way, and the steps needed to avoid the looming threat of an ageing, asset-less population.

India’s Demographic Advantage

India’s population is currently in its demographic prime, offering a rare window of opportunity for accelerated growth. Here’s a snapshot of the numbers:

• A Young Workforce: Approximately 67.3% of India’s population falls within the productive age group of 15-59 years. This advantage will persist for the next three decades.
• Youthful Nation: About 26% of the population is below 14 years, while only 7% is above 65, a stark contrast to 17% in the US and 21% in Europe.
• Future Projections: By 2030, India’s working-age population is projected to reach 68.9%, with a median age of just 28.4 years. The dependency ratio, which measures the burden of non-working individuals on the working population, will stand at a low 31.2%.
• Global Workforce Leader: With over 1.04 billion people in the working-age bracket, India is set to host the world’s largest workforce.

But numbers alone won’t drive growth. India’s demographic dividend will only translate into sustained economic gains with the right policies and investments.

Turning Demography into Dividend

India’s demographic advantage can only become a demographic dividend if the workforce is equipped for high productivity. This requires targeted interventions in key areas:

• High-Productivity Sectors: Industries such as information technology, healthcare, life sciences, R&D-driven innovation, and high-end services hold the key to wealth creation.
• Building Capacity: Productivity hinges on a skilled and healthy workforce, starting from the foetal stage and continuing through childhood and adolescence. This journey demands consistent health, nutritional, and educational care.
• Education as a Catalyst: High learning capacity and superior skills, tailored to contemporary job demands, are essential to harnessing India’s vast workforce potential.

Without these foundational pillars, India’s population could become more of a liability than an asset.

Challenges in Leveraging the Demographic Dividend

Despite its potential, India faces significant challenges in education, skills development, health, and nutrition. These barriers must be addressed to unlock the demographic dividend.

1. Education and Skill Gap

India’s education system struggles to equip its youth with the skills required by the modern job market.

• Schooling Levels: According to NFHS-5, only 41% of women and 50.2% of men aged 15-49 have completed 10 years or more of schooling.
• Low Completion Rates: Merely 34% of girls and 35.9% of boys aged 15-24 have completed 12 years or more of education.
• Poor Learning Outcomes: The 2023 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) found that:
  • Only 77% of 17-18-year-olds could read a Class 2 textbook.
  • Only 35% could perform basic division.
  • Learning levels across Grades V-VIII showed negligible improvement.
• Mismatch in Skills: Despite multiple skilling programs, employers struggle to find candidates with the skills they need, leading to high unemployment among educated youth.

2. Health and Nutrition Concerns

Health and nutrition deficiencies are significant hurdles to developing a productive workforce.

• Anaemia Epidemic: NFHS-5 revealed that 57% of women and 25% of men are anaemic. Among 15-24-year-olds, 59% of girls and 31% of boys face the same issue.
• Malnutrition: Alarmingly:
  • 18.7% of women and 16.2% of men have below-normal BMI.
  • 35.5% of children under five years are stunted, 19.3% are wasted, and 32.1% are underweight.
  • Only 11.3% of children aged 6-23 months receive a minimally adequate diet.
• Cognitive Impact: Poor nutrition impacts cognitive development, limiting the potential for higher education and skill acquisition.

Consequences of Inaction

If these challenges are not addressed, the consequences will be dire.

• Stalled Potential: Under-nourished, unskilled individuals will struggle to meet the demands of the emerging high-end job market.
• Ageing Burden: After 2030, India’s workforce will begin to decline, while its ageing population grows, increasing dependency and reducing productivity.
• Economic Strain: A growing population of unskilled, asset-less, and ageing individuals in poor health could become a significant economic burden.

Way Forward: Recommendations for a Sustainable Future

India’s path to sustainable growth depends on comprehensive strategies that address health, education, and skill development.

1. Health and Nutrition

Issue	Recommendation
Maternal & Child Health	Expand nutrition programs for children under 2 years.
Anaemia	Introduce fortified foods and targeted health campaigns.
Infrastructure	Strengthen public health systems to combat malnutrition and related illnesses.

2. Education and Skill Development

Focus Area	Action Plan
Foundational Learning	Implement robust early education programs to improve cognitive development.
Secondary Education	Expand access to quality education for adolescents aged 15-24 years.
Learning Outcomes	Address the flat learning trajectory in Grades V-VIII by improving curriculum and teacher training.

3. Skilling Programs

• Align skilling initiatives with the demands of high-growth sectors like R&D, technology, and life sciences.
• Incorporate cognitive and employability skills into skilling programs to boost workforce readiness.
• Encourage private sector partnerships to ensure training aligns with industry needs.

Conclusion

India’s demographic advantage is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but without the right investments in health, education, and skills, it could become a demographic disaster. Building a healthier, better-educated, and more skilled population will ensure that India’s workforce can meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global economy. With targeted interventions, India can transform its population into a driving force for sustainable growth.

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Analysis of The Indian Express Editorial 2 : Scholars Without Borders 

India is poised to revolutionize its academic and research landscape with the launch of the Pradhan Mantri-One Nation One Subscription (PM-ONOS) scheme. This visionary initiative promises to break down barriers in accessing high-quality research, empowering scholars, students, and faculty across the country. With this, India is taking a bold step toward democratizing knowledge and fostering innovation, ensuring no scholar or institution is left behind in the race for excellence.

Let’s explore how PM-ONOS could be a game-changer for India’s education and research sectors, leveling the playing field for institutions of all sizes and capabilities.

Context

India has long grappled with disparities in access to high-quality academic resources. While elite institutions enjoy well-funded libraries and subscriptions to leading journals, smaller universities, colleges, and research institutions—especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities—struggle to provide their students and researchers with comparable access. This lack of resources often stifles the academic potential of countless scholars and impedes multidisciplinary research efforts, creating a divide in the quality of education and innovation.

To address this inequity, the Government of India has introduced the Pradhan Mantri-One Nation One Subscription (PM-ONOS) scheme. It aims to provide unified access to scholarly journals and research materials across all government-supported institutions, eliminating barriers to knowledge and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.

Introduction

Imagine a world where every student, no matter where they study, can access the same treasure trove of academic resources as scholars from the best universities. This vision is at the heart of the PM-ONOS scheme, a groundbreaking initiative that promises to democratize access to scholarly knowledge across India.

Launched by the Indian government, this scheme seeks to bridge the resource gap between elite institutions and less-endowed colleges and universities. By providing centralized access to over 13,000 e-journals across disciplines, PM-ONOS is set to transform India’s research landscape, enabling scholars to reach their full potential.

This article delves into the scheme’s objectives, its significance in addressing existing gaps, and its potential to reshape the future of education and research in India.

Overview of the PM-ONOS Scheme

The PM-ONOS scheme is a landmark effort to bring scholarly knowledge within reach of every government-funded higher education and research institution in India.

• What It Offers:
  • Access to over 13,000 e-journals from 30 leading global publishers.
  • Coverage spanning STEM, medicine, management, social sciences, and humanities—a treasure trove of academic resources.
• Who Benefits:
  • Students, researchers, and faculty members in smaller institutions, often constrained by limited financial resources, will now have access to the same knowledge pool as their counterparts in elite universities.
• Why It Matters:
  • This comprehensive access levels the playing field, helping bridge the knowledge gap between Tier-1 institutions and their less-endowed counterparts.

By providing equitable access, PM-ONOS promises to drive inclusive growth in India’s academic ecosystem.

Current Landscape of Library Consortia and ONOS’s Role

Existing Consortia Models

India’s existing academic subscription system is fragmented, managed by various government ministries and departments:

Ministry/Department	Consortium	Institutions Served
Ministry of Education	E-Shodh Sindhu (ESS)	~2,000 HEIs
Department of Science & Technology	Several Smaller Consortia	Discipline-Specific Institutions
Other Ministries (e.g., Health)	ERMED (medical journals), DRDO, etc.	Select Discipline-Based Access

• Limitations:
  • Fragmented access and resource duplication.
  • Discipline-specific subscriptions, restricting interdisciplinary research.
  • Unequal coverage, with smaller institutions often left out.

ONOS’s Centralized Solution

PM-ONOS aims to replace the existing patchwork system with a unified, centralized model:

• Broader Coverage: Every central university, state university, and government-supported college gains access.
• Cross-Disciplinary Benefits: Scholars from all disciplines can access journals outside their primary areas of study, encouraging multidisciplinary research.
• Inclusion of Medical Colleges: PM-ONOS addresses gaps in ERMED’s current coverage of only 74 medical colleges, adding all government medical institutions, including AIIMS campuses.

This shift from a siloed approach to an integrated model could redefine research culture in India.

Key Impacts and Benefits of PM-ONOS

The ONOS initiative has far-reaching implications for India’s academic and research landscape.

1. Boost in Institutional Coverage

PM-ONOS will increase the number of beneficiary institutions by 160%, allowing more colleges and universities to access high-quality research materials.

2. Support for Medical and Tier-2/Tier-3 Institutions

• Medical Institutions: All government medical colleges will now gain access to critical journals, addressing long-standing coverage gaps.
• Tier-2 and Tier-3 HEIs: Smaller institutions, which often struggle with resource constraints, will finally gain equitable access to research materials.

3. Encouraging Multidisciplinary Research

With unrestricted access to journals across various disciplines, researchers can collaborate on innovative, cross-disciplinary projects.

4. Alignment with National Policies

PM-ONOS supports key initiatives like:

• National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes multidisciplinary education.
• Anusandhan National Research Foundation, focusing on research that drives social and economic progress.

5. Higher Research Quality and Innovation

By removing barriers to knowledge, PM-ONOS will foster a culture of innovation, boosting the quality of Indian research and positioning the country as a global knowledge leader.

6. Near-Universal Fulfillment

With an impressive 98-100% fulfillment rate for e-journal requirements, ONOS ensures institutions can access almost all the resources they need.

Future Plans and Prospects

The PM-ONOS scheme isn’t just about the present; it lays the groundwork for future expansion and innovation.

1. Inclusion of Private HEIs

The government plans to extend the program to private higher education institutions through a public-private partnership model. While this requires careful planning and approvals, it could dramatically broaden the scheme’s impact.

2. Exploring Transformative Agreements

PM-ONOS is exploring models like transformative agreements, which combine subscription costs with open-access publishing. This approach could help Indian researchers publish their work globally while maintaining access to high-quality journals.

3. A Strategic Approach to Open Access

While advocating for open access, PM-ONOS provides a practical, India-specific solution that balances affordability with global knowledge-sharing principles.

4. Alignment with Global Standards

PM-ONOS aligns with Article 27 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, emphasizing universal access to knowledge. This underscores India’s commitment to democratizing education and research.

Comparative Analysis: Existing System vs. ONOS

Aspect	Existing System	ONOS Model
Access Coverage	Limited to certain institutions/disciplines	Nationwide access for all government HEIs
Multidisciplinary Research	Restricted	Open access across all fields
Medical Institutions	Partial coverage (ERMED)	All government medical colleges included
Cost Efficiency	High duplication and fragmented costs	Centralized funding for streamlined access

Conclusion: Knowledge Without Boundaries

PM-ONOS has the potential to redefine India’s research and education landscape, making high-quality scholarly resources accessible to all. By dismantling barriers to knowledge, the scheme empowers students, faculty, and researchers to drive innovation and address complex societal challenges.

Most importantly, ONOS opens the doors for smaller, resource-strapped institutions to thrive, ensuring that knowledge and opportunity are no longer the privileges of the elite. With careful implementation and expansion, PM-ONOS can serve as a global model for democratizing education and research.

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