The whole world is seething with political and military crises. The Middle East is burning. The Russia-Ukraine war has stretched beyond 1,000 days and poses a significant risk of nuclear escalation. Bharat is a bright spot in this turmoil, having positioned itself as a strategically independent nation with a peace-making orientation. As a result, many small and large nations are turning to Bharat with the hope and expectation of bringing normalcy to the situation. On the surface, Bharat appears well-equipped and prepared to provide leadership and mediation in this global crisis. However, deep down, it also suffers from fundamental problems. Some of the well-known issues include a burgeoning population, increasing joblessness, incivility, and a polarizing rather than reconciling political landscape. The disturbed neighborhood of Bangladesh and Pakistan exacerbates the situation, while occasional muscle-flexing by smaller neighbors like the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Nepal puts Bharat in a difficult spot. This raises the question: what remedial actions should Bharat take to address these fundamental problems before staking its claim as a world leader or global guru?
Given the scale and complexity of these problems, there are no short-term measures. The solutions lie either in the medium term, with a 6-8 year horizon, or in the long term, with a 15-year perspective. Here is my wishlist in this regard. Other scholars may have different views of the situation.
1. Law and Order
Ensuring law and order in the country is paramount. The burgeoning population poses significant risks in terms of security and crime mitigation. To this end, it is essential to track every individual, vehicle, and human/non-human asset in real time. This can be achieved through the appropriate use of technological solutions such as UID (Unique Identification), image recognition, high-speed cameras, and financial footprint mapping for every entity in the nation. Without technological support, the police system is bound to collapse sooner or later. China has already achieved significant success in this area with the help of state-controlled private enterprises like Tencent's WeChat and Alibaba.
2. Social Security
Provision of jobs is the most effective guarantee of social security. However, there is a limit to the number of low-wage, low-skill jobs that can be generated in the country. Moreover, such jobs neither solve the social security problem nor substantially contribute to the economy. Therefore, we must take a step back and focus on skills and entrepreneurship first. While there are many initiatives aimed at promoting skills and entrepreneurship, such as Start-Up India and Stand-Up India, they have not yielded revolutionary results.
India's re-skilling ecosystem is fragmented and lopsided, with most efforts focusing on soft skills and software skills. This can be addressed by upgrading Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to state-of-the-art institutions equipped with the latest technology, tools, and instruments. These should cover all skill areas, including farming, manufacturing, and the service industry. However, implementing such reforms is easier said than done. Even with activity-based learning curriculums, the challenge of finding skilled teachers remains.
Moreover, skill development alone is insufficient. The issue of jobs is directly linked to market size and innovation. Expanding the market size requires tapping into both domestic and global markets for "Make in India" goods and services. At the same time, fostering innovation necessitates a different level of thinking and a robust research ecosystem.
3. Civility and Attitudinal Change
Richness does not come merely by earning money; it should be accompanied by socio-cultural changes in attitude. While Bharat has performed moderately well on the growth curve, it seems to be slipping in terms of civility and failing to keep pace with the need for attitudinal change. Examples include the misuse of urban public transport, stubble burning, and non-compliance with traffic rules.
How can we bring about a change in attitude? One way is proper enforcement and optimal penalization. However, any effort in this direction must be preceded by creating pathways for the easy adoption of alternative behavior. For instance, farmers need alternative schemes to discourage stubble burning.
4. Political Fragmentation
The fragmented political landscape is the most concerning issue. Ideally, political institutions like Parliament should discuss, innovate, and formulate solutions for the aforementioned problems. However, fragmentation in the political space and rigidity in constitutional and judicial interpretations create challenges for fresh thinking, innovative legal provisions, and their enforcement.
One promising institution for long-term solutions is Indian universities. Unfortunately, apart from a few bright spots like IITs and NITs, even globally recognized institutions are prisoners of India's social structure and realities. Hierarchical mindsets in colleges and universities, along with gaps in industry-academia-research linkages, raise doubts about their ability to foster fresh thinking and design innovations.
5. Opening Up Education to Foreign Universities
Opening up the education sector to foreign universities can address several issues. Allowing foreign university campuses in India can revolutionize the education, skill, technology, and design sectors. It can also strengthen industry-academia-research linkages, retain talent within the country, and curb brain drain.
Imagine the impact of creating ecosystems at home that match global standards. Allowing foreign universities to establish mega campuses in India and offer innovative courses can increase competition in the education sector, introduce global best practices, and set up energetic innovation labs. These can become new fountains of development in rural or untouched territories, taking foreign investment and its benefits to remote areas.
Conclusion
While there are other reforms with long-term benefits, such as One Nation, One Election, the Uniform Civil Code, or a Population Control Bill, these are politically sensitive and difficult to navigate. The Foreign University Bill, however, is a low-hanging fruit that Parliament can easily tap into. It has the potential to sow the seeds of a prosperous Bharat, making it a global guru and earning wider acceptance on the global stage.
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