On the road to Liberty

Here is my latest article where I discuss the relationship between education and employability, and the challenge that we in India face. I am doubtful of the effectiveness of the "education reforms" initiatives of the present UPA government, in meeting the challenges. And I suggest an independent system to assess the employability of youngsters. I will appreciate any comment or criticism that anyone might have. The original article was published in the Wall Street Journal Asia, on 2 June 2010. The title was " Indian Students and the Strangulating State ", New Delhi is trying to regulate innovation out of the educational system. Indian students waited eagerly last week for the results of entrance exams to the most sought-after engineering schools, among them the famed Indian Institutes of Technology. More than 450,000 students competed for some 9,500 seats in what is perhaps the most competitive exam in the world. This year's success stories included a home-sc...

My article titled "Union Budget 1999-2000: Some unanswered questions" was published in the newsletter of the Liberty Institute in May 1999. The 1999-2000 budget has tried not to tread too hard on any toes. In view of the rollbacks that had to be undertaken last year, this was perhaps inevitable. But by the same token, the budget has left many questions unanswered. Rural development The budget has outlined many measures. But it has failed to deal with two basic questions. First, as a former Prime Minister had noted only 15% of all developmental funds actually reach the target. Merely allocating more funds is not an answer to this structural problem. Secondly, the fundamental cause for this is the abject rural productivity. Rural India continues to support 60-70% of the population while the contribution of agriculture to GDP has fallen from over 70% in 1950 to about half that level today. The lesson to be drawn is that the fundamental way to eliminate poverty in the countrysid...