Editorial 1: ​​A case of practical, pragmatic and innovative education 

Context

The NEP has resolved doubts about the practical relevance of Indian education.

Introduction

There has been significant focus on the practical utility, job creation potential, and innovation within India’s research and education sectors, especially regarding their ability to compete globally under the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The NEP 2020 is a long-term structural reform designed for phased implementation. Its goal is to transform India’s education system by:

• Encouraging innovation
• Strengthening industry-academia collaboration
• Improving student employability through diverse initiatives

The policy works on three key fronts:

1. Promoting originality and indigenous imagination in research
2. Maintaining global competitiveness in education
3. Preparing students for multiple career paths

NEP’s Flexible Four-Year Teaching Programme

• The four-year flexible teaching programme under NEP is not meant to push students into low-paying jobs, contrary to some claims.
• Students can earn certificates and credentials during their studies and return later to complete their full degrees.
• This helps students who might otherwise drop out without formal qualifications.
• It supports diverse career paths with real, recognized credentials.

Vocational Training and Internships

• NEP promotes vocational education and industry internships to give students practical knowledge and improve employability.
• Before NEP, Indian education struggled to provide real-world skills.
• Now, there is a strong focus on industry-academia partnerships and hands-on training opportunities.

Aspect	Before NEP	After NEP
Employability focus	Limited	Strong emphasis
Vocational training	Minimal	Encouraged and integrated
Industry internships	Few opportunities	Widely promoted

Adoption and Impact

• Currently, 167 universities and 59 colleges offer the four-year undergraduate degrees.
• 224 universities and 101 colleges provide multidisciplinary degree programmes.
• A new research internship programme connects students with practical, hands-on industry experience to enhance skills.

Apprenticeships and Support for Diploma Holders

• Diploma holders or students who left degree courses can join apprenticeships within five years of graduation.
• These apprenticeships provide on-the-job training with a stipend partly funded by the government.

Apprenticeship Data	Numbers
Universities offering internships	197
Colleges offering internships	93
Undergraduates in internships	3,07,564
Postgraduates in internships	58,834

Research & Development (R&D) Focus

• 242 universities and 113 colleges have established R&D cells to encourage innovative research skills among students.
• This helps create a vibrant research environment linked closely with industry needs.

India’s Growing Global Presence in Education and Research

• 11 Indian universities are now listed in the QS Top 500 global ranking.
• India leads in the QS Asia Rankings 2025 with 163 universities featured across Asia.
• Indian institutions saw a 25.7% increase in subject-specific entries (533 entries).
• 10 institutions (including 6 IITs and 2 IIMs) ranked in the global top 50 in various disciplines.

Ranking Achievement	Number / Percentage
QS Top 500 universities	11
QS Asia Rankings universities	163
Subject-specific entries	533 (up 25.7%)
Top 50 global institutions	10

Research Output and Innovation Growth

• Patents filed by Indian higher education increased from 7,405 (2021-22) to 19,155 (2022-23) — a 158% growth.
• India ranks 39th overall in the Global Innovation Index, up from 76th a decade ago.

Major Research and Innovation Initiatives Post-NEP

• Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) Act 2023 supports national research coordination.
• AICTE’s IDEA labs encourage idea development, evaluation, and application.
• SPARC (Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration) promotes joint research projects between Indian and international institutions from 28 countries like the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and France.

Initiative	Purpose	Impact
ANRF 2023 Act	National research coordination	Strengthened research framework
AICTE IDEA Labs	Idea development & application	Boosts innovation at campus level
SPARC	International academic collaboration	Joint research with 28 countries

Indigenous Knowledge and Grassroots Innovation

• NEP 2020 promotes the Indian Knowledge System from schools to higher education to develop indigenous scientific and educational thinking.
• The Smart India Hackathon fosters innovation at the grassroots level, empowering over 1.39 million students.
• Since 2017, idea submissions in the hackathon have increased sevenfold.

Employment Trends Among Educated Youth and Overall Workforce

• Employability depends on many factors like industry hiring patterns, global economic trends, and post-COVID recovery.
• Employment among educated youth (ages 15-29) showed a decline from 2004-05 to 2017-18, especially for women.
• From 2018-19 onward, employment rates have steadily improved.
• By 2023-24:
  • Employment rate for men: 53.4%
  • Employment rate for women: 22.7% (close to 2004-05 levels)
  • Overall employment rate: 38.6%

Year	Employment Rate (Men %)	Employment Rate (Women %)	Overall Employment Rate (%)
2004-05	Near current levels	Near current levels	–
2017-18	Declined	Declined	–
2023-24	53.4	22.7	38.6

Employment Growth Across All Age Groups

• Employment has grown for all age groups since 2017-18, reaching 43.7% in 2023-24.
• Female employment increased to 30.7% in 2023-24.

Shift Towards Better Quality Jobs

• The proportion of regular (formal) workers increased, especially for men:
  • From 17.2% (2004-05) to 24.88% (2023-24).
• Casual labour (irregular, low-paying jobs) has declined, especially for women:
  • From 30.31% to 16.68% for females.
  • Overall decline from 28.85% to 19.83%.

Employment Type	2004-05 (%)	2023-24 (%)	Trend
Regular workers (Men)	17.2	24.88	Increase — more formal jobs
Casual labour (Women)	30.31	16.68	Decrease — less irregular jobs
Casual labour (Overall)	28.85	19.83	Decrease

Conclusion

The New Education Policy 2020 has laid a strong foundation for transforming India’s education and research landscape. By promoting innovation, industry collaboration, and practical learning, it has enhanced employabilityand global competitiveness. The rise in quality jobs, research output, and international rankings shows India’s growing strength. Sustainable employment growth reflects the success of pragmatic, skill-based education in preparing a future-ready workforce.

Editorial 2: India’s financial sector reforms need a shake-up

Context               

There should be consistent rules across different areas, support for a strong bond market, lively retirement finance options, and better control over shadow banking.

 Introduction

India’s financial sector is at an important turning point. For a long time, the government and regulators have made small changes in banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), but problems still remain. These problems are not just minor issues — they act as barriers that stop savers, discourage investors, and slow down growth. To have a truly professional, transparent, and investor-friendly financial sector, bigger changes are needed, especially in corporate bond markets, retirement planning tools, nomination processes in BFSI, and controlling the rising problem of shadow banking.

Nomination Issues Across BFSI

• Inconsistent Rules: Across banks, mutual funds, and insurance, nomination rules vary widely.
  • One account allows a single nominee
  • Another allows multiple nominees with different rights
• Confusion for Savers: This patchwork of rules lacks legal clarity and causes confusion for ordinary savers.
  • Benefits mainly those exploiting legal loopholes
  • Leads to lengthy court cases
• Need for Harmonisation:
  • A unified nomination framework is necessary
  • Clear definition of nominee rights vs legal heir claims is overdue
  • If differences exist for valid reasons, the government should provide evidence or case studies justifying them

Aspect	Current Situation	Ideal Situation
Number of nominees	Varies by BFSI vertical	Consistent across all BFSI sectors
Legal clarity	Unclear and conflicting	Clear, standardized rules
Impact on savers	Confusing, prone to exploitation	Easy to understand, protects rights

Underdeveloped Corporate Bond Market

• Current Status:
  • Market is shallow, illiquid, and opaque despite policy efforts
  • Affects the cost of capital, key to business success
• Potential Benefits of Reform:
  • Efficient bond markets can reduce funding costs by 2% to 3%
  • Could unlock significant gains for industry and employment
• Regulatory Failures:
  • RBI directed NSE to build a secondary bond market, but it was ignored
  • Equity markets are more profitable due to opaque trading strategies
  • NSE sued a journalist exposing malpractices, but was reprimanded by the High Court

Factor	Impact	Notes
Corporate bond market depth	Shallow and underdeveloped	Restricts affordable funding
RBI’s directive to NSE	Ignored	Lost opportunity for bond growth
Equity trading profitability	More attractive to exchanges	Leads to neglect of bond market

Transparency and Ownership Disclosure Challenges

• Global Compliance: India, as part of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), must enforce Know Your Customer (KYC)norms
  • These norms require clear identification of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs)
• Practical Issues: SEBI recently pressured two Mauritius-based foreign portfolio investors (Elara India Opportunities Fund and Vespera Fund) for detailed shareholder data
  • Both failed to fully comply, delaying regulatory oversight
• Disclosure Loopholes:
  • Current UBO thresholds:
    • 10% for companies
    • 15% for partnerships
  • Allow entities to structure investments just below thresholds, avoiding detection
• Impact:
  • Opacity weakens market integrity
  • Discourages long-term domestic and foreign investments

Aspect	Challenge	Consequence
UBO Disclosure Limits	High thresholds (10-15%) allow avoidance	Difficult to trace true ownership
Investor Compliance	Foreign funds reluctant to disclose data	Hinders enforcement and regulation
Market Integrity	Opacity in ownership structures	Weakens trust and investment flow

Unmet Retirement Planning Needs for Young Professionals

• Current Situation:
  • Most retirement planning in India relies on annuities
  • These are expensive because insurance companies take a high intermediation margin
• Better Alternative:
  • Long-dated zero-coupon government securities offer a simpler, cheaper option
  • Avoid the typical 2% intermediation fee over 30 years, which can lead to big gains for savers
• Technology and Opportunity:
  • Technology exists to “strip” principal and coupon payments to create zero-coupon bonds
  • But the government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have not taken strong steps to promote this
• Missed Chance:
  • India is missing an opportunity to build a vibrant, low-cost retirement system backed by sovereign credibility

Aspect	Current Situation	Better Option
Retirement planning method	Mostly annuities (costly)	Zero-coupon government bonds
Costs	High intermediation fee (~2%)	Low-cost, no intermediation fee
Technology	Available for bond stripping	Underutilized by government/RBI
Impact on savers	Lower returns due to fees	Higher long-term gains

Shadow banking

• Shadow banking includes NBFCs, margin lenders, repo traders, and brokers providing bank-like services without full regulatory oversight.
• This is a major risk area; global experts warn the next financial crisis could start here, similar to the 2008 US crisis caused by unregulated derivatives.
• In India:
  • Brokers lend to retail investors under the guise of margin funding.
  • Interest rates can exceed 20%, often without investors’ knowledge.
  • The broker uses the investor’s own funds as collateral, lends it back, and charges interest on the total amount—a classic shadow banking tactic.
  • It’s unclear if the Finance Ministry or RBI fully understand the size of this shadow lending.
• Global Benchmark:
  • The European Union has enacted laws requiring detailed data collection on shadow banking.
  • India needs similar transparency laws first, as data collection is essential before effective regulation can be applied.

Key Concern	Current Situation in India	Global Example
Regulatory oversight	Limited for shadow banking entities	EU mandates comprehensive data collection
Interest rates	Often above 20%, hidden from investors	Transparent disclosure required
Awareness & data	Unknown scale of shadow lending	Data-driven regulation enforced

Conclusion

India’s financial reforms must move past slogans and small changes. We need a clear, future-focused plan that unifies rules across sectors, builds a strong bond market, creates better retirement finance options, and controls shadow banking.