EdTech and Education of Technology

The whole period of COVID-19 outbreak was a turning point for the entire globe making the third decade of the 21st century probably the most crucial one in terms of smartly and efficiently shifting to a tech-based living and learning. The clarity regarding the connection between technology and education lies in understanding three factors i.e. Learning with AI/ML etc., learning about AI, and preparing for AI. It can be said that the very pace at which these three factors get implemented in a nation is also the rate at which that country is progressing in building AI infrastructure.

AI/ML, Virtual Reality, Supercomputing, IoT, Bigdata, Cloud computing, use of robotics, etc. can enable automation, personalised learning, predictive analysis, deep behavorial insights, smart infrastructure, identification of damaging data patterns, tech-oriented understanding and logical thinking, and a lot more. This type of setup is so powerful that it can fill the cognitive gaps between the social, creative and logical aspects of the human brain as it showcases how the theories convert into practical applications.

The more advanced complex AI tools in the form of supercomputers form another significant sector as far as technological prowess is concerned. To further enhance its capacity in the domain, India launched the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) in 2015. Under NSM, the plan was to connect R&D institutions and academic institutions in the country using a supercomputing grid with more than 70 high performance computing facilities. Increased focus here made India’s fastest and largest supercomputer PARAM-Siddhi AI and supercomputer MIHIR secure the 62nd & 146th spot respectively in the list of World’s top 500 Supercomputers in 2020. The first three positions were captured by Japan and the United States. Many other kinds of computing like Neuromorphic computing, quantum computing, reversible computing, Atomtronics, etc. are becoming a matter of interest to many scholars and researchers, as the government around the globe consider and study the scope of spending more on R&D and institutionalization.

This very fact also explains the growth of ed-tech as a sector globally in terms of both investment and opportunities. A recent data collected by the newly-formed Indian EdTech Consortium (IEC), under the aegis of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), showed that the Indian edtech sector has generated over 75,000 jobs for the Indian workforce in the past five years. The consortium also claimed that over 50,000 professionals are currently part of the ed-tech ecosystem. These kind of new opportunities will very relevantly get superimposed on to the readiness that is being ensured through strong policy change in Indian education system via NEP 2020.

A lot of developments have been taking place in India to further the ed-tech domain. The National Education Alliance for Technology (NEAT), which is being implemented by AICTE, aims to act as a bridge between edtech companies, academic institutions and students. The initiative was taken after a Ministry of Education review noted that learning tools developed by edtech platforms that can supplement classroom teaching need to be made more accessible. So far, the government has roped in 58 edtech companies to the NEAT portal. A comprehensive initiative called PM e-VIDYA was also launched in the country which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. This will benefit nearly 25 crore school going children across the country as it offers remote learning, SWAYAM online courses, one earmarked TV channel per class from 1 to 12, extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast via Shiksha Vani, special e-content for visually and hearing impaired, and a lot other provisions. Expansion of the ‘one class, one TV channel’ program (from 12 TV channels to a total of 200 channels) was also announced in the Budget this year. This will enable all states to provide supplementary education for classes in regional languages for classes 1 to 12. Government is also trying to make available High-quality E content in all spoken languages for delivery via internet mobile phones, TV and through radio and digital teachers.

Academia and industry collaboration needs

Cultivating a skilled workforce becomes a rock solid pillar for the country’s progressive economy. In this fast-pacing competitive world, fresh young minds, ready to enter the industry, should be trained for the future, i.e., instilling creative thinking in sync with academic knowledge. As we are preparing for the future, this is where we should increasingly leverage research advances along with technical expertise.

Hence, academic-industry collaboration is fast becoming a rage all across the globe, especially in developing economies like India, as the gap between education system and industries’ expectations has widened in the last few decades. Unmindful of what industries needed or the existing trends were, academics rather focused on just providing education, whether it is science, humanities, technical, professional and others. This is the reason why successive market research on technical and professional education by industry bodies like ASSOCHAM paint a grim and gloomy picture of what is being provided to the students in the name of technical and professional education.

Now it is increasingly recognized across the globe that close interface between academia and industry not only prepares students as per the changing needs and aspirations of the industry, but also promotes innovation and growth. A partnership between educational institutions and industry prove to be instrumental in advancing research and development, besides creating a skilled workforce which companies need.

Most of the time, industry is prone to innovating new ways, processes and technologies to reap rich benefits and broaden economic horizons and activities, however majority of the institutions get accustomed to working on a set pattern, which keep them away from the fast changing realities of the industry. The western world recognized this fact very early that the task of commercializing creative ideas lies with the industry and it is possible only when academia has close collaboration with the economic activities going on in the market.

In the present times of knowledge economy, it is a critical requirement to have such an interface. Close interactions among universities, research institutions and private companies also help prepare the students for the required work, which also saves precious time spent on training the new recruits upon joining a company or industry.

The constantly changing paradigms and complexities of the industry, business, technical processes and people, necessitate that these two come closer for greater benefit of both. A productive collaboration between these two is critical for the knowledge economy and, for that, the curriculum for schools, colleges, universities and all technical and professional courses should also be designed in such a way that ensures that the education imparted should lead to creation of expertise and skills that the industry needs. And fortunately, the New Education Policy (NEP) is set to help in this direction.

Leveraging educational institutions for the entrepreneurial spirit

Greater collaboration between universities and industry has long been in discussion in India. In the recently concluded Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam in Varanasi, it was discussed at length, stressing that to move towards a knowledge-based superpower, making universities multidisciplinary and also a centre of excellence, it is essential to provide space to industries in campus to establish research and development centres, which invariably pave way for start-ups and greater collaborations. Under the NEP, universities would be encouraged to establish their ventures, making education imparted in universities being based majorly on application and practical experience. This process would for sure make the students more employable, as their skills and knowledge would be more relevant to the emerging job prospects and opportunities. Indian industry has long been complaining about the students being bereft of practical aspect of the things, hence rendered unemployable.

Several top companies like Google, Facebook, Bose, Qualcomm and many others have borne out of the university campuses. Moreover, the tech companies that begin in university campuses also leverage years of research and bright talents, who then spur a culture and series of innovations. However, a common complaint in Indian context is that here universities don’t promote such creativity, innovation and inventiveness, while they do excel when it comes to academic rigour. It’s really a pity that in absence of conducive ambience to follow a dream of having a venture of their home, many bright students coming out of IITs and IIMs like institutions end up working for MNCs for plush paying jobs. Otherwise, they could be helped sufficiently to become entrepreneurs and innovators and create jobs and wealth for themselves and the country. But now the scene appears to be changing, especially with the advent of the New Education Policy (NEP) in place, the pace of collaborations is expected to gain momentum.

In recent years, driven by the pragmatic approach of the government at the Centre, several universities have included innovation in the curriculum and entrepreneurship being taught in commerce, management and engineering courses. Now several colleges and universities have their entrepreneurship cells also. To power this nascent trend of entrepreneurship in the country, the Government of India launched the Atal Innovation Centres, which provide managed workspace for the startups to operate. A few top institutions like the Indian Institute of Science, a few IITs and Central Food Technological Research and Institute among others have their dedicated IP licensing centres to make their R&D available for the market.

Moreover, the government has sanctioned establishment of research parks in IITs in Madras, Bombay, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Gandhinagar and IISc Bangalore to augment the research ecosystem in the country to enable the students to pursue their R&D interests in India, through innovative research. Incubation centres (ICs) at educational institutions seek to nurture technology and knowledge based ventures through their start-up phase by providing the necessary support to help entrepreneurs survive in the competitive market and reach a stage where they can scale-up their ventures further. Various schemes such as Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY), Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT), Impactful Policy Research in Social Science (IMPRESS), Scheme for Trans-Disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE), Scheme for promotion of Research and Academic Collaboration (SPARC), National Initiative for Design Innovation (NIDI), Scheme for Transformational and Advanced Research in Sciences (STARS) etc. are also being implemented by the Ministry of Education for promotion of research ecosystem of country’s higher education institutes. The government also implements Global Initiative for Academic Network (GIAN) which seeks to tap the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs from abroad, including those of Indian origin to augment the country’s existing academic resources. In this way, leveraging educational institutions for the entrepreneurial efforts can prove to be a win-win situation for both Industry and universities.

Ideas to transform Educational Landscape through NEP

Ethos of education in India has always been of ‘Aparoksh Anubhuti’, i.e. that of direct experience. Each philosophy of this land comes along with set of prescribed practices to fetch an individual to the awareness level of unity of all. This was not just for spiritual aspects but even for material growth and achievements through education. “The era of forcing anything on youth without understanding them, has long gone and flexibility in education is the key to turn India into a vibrant knowledge society,” said PM Narendra Modi in inaugural address of a Samagam in Varanasi. With the aim to extract nectar for transforming education by focusing on the various facets of ‘New Eduation Policy 2020’, a three day educational maha kumbh was organized in Varanasi. The aim of the ‘Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam’ as it had been named, was to come out with a firm resolve to work collectively to transform the country into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society, which India significantly needs at this juncture. In this sense, this event proved to be a huge success, where freewheeling ideas were witnessed.

The concept of learning and educational impartations form an integral part of the rich history of the Indian subcontinent. From the ancient most type of schools in the form of ‘Gurukuls’, to ‘Ashram Vidya’, to Buddhist education centres, madrassas, Universities like Nalanda, Takshashila Vikramshila and to introduction of modern education during the colonial rule, Indian land has witnessed a rich mix of learning starting from spirituality, followed by knowledge, astronomy, science, logical discoveries, skills, various Arts, theology, and finally modern education. The whole historic spectrum showcases how more than the ‘Theory’ aspects, the Indian civilisation has dominantly exhausted their beliefs into the importance of practical and creative learning. NEP 2020 brings back that same culture in the most modern and tech-era essence.

It is rather good fortune for India that ‘Entrepreneurship’ which fuels innovation, multi-level employment opportunities and growth (economic, social, personal), is booming in its landscapes. NEP 2020 is entirely based on the new factors have brought in a sense of trust among those forming the education vertical. These include collaborations of various Indian educational institutions with entities within and outside India, industry interface for research and consultancy, increased Public – Private partnership and investment in the education field, entrepreneurship and skill formation, shifting to digital means and smart learning, greater practical exposure being made available, multi-dimensional pedagogy as a creative art, greater acceptance for foundation and vocational courses, and skill development. Rise of Ed-Tech and Experiential Learning provide good exposure for scholars to expand more on their intellectual finesse.

It’s good to see that a number of seminars are being organized by the concerned educational authorities in universities and other places across the country to give a realistic and relevant shape to NEP by inviting brainstorming ideas. PM Modi himself has attended more than 25 seminars to talk about the implementation of the NEP. Now we can expect to emerge as a big destination for global education and be able to take advantage of the demographic dividend. We must bring in an education system that is well rooted in Indian values, thoughts and sense of service, which we have always cherished and nourished. In this case NEP2020 gives us the direction and path for also decolonizing our education and creating pride in our languages, culture, knowledge and traditions.

Agniveers to serve twin engines of Government and Corporates.

Agnipath – the scheme in news since some time is now proving to be very effective in turning into ground reality. It is being welcomed warmly by all and sundry. All the three branches of Indian Armed Forces seem to be fully geared up, carrying out the concerned processes and conducting recruitment rallies at different locations of the country. The enthusiasm among the youth for the Agnipath scheme is worth seeing first hand and it has completely cleared up the concocted air around the plan by some vested interests. It also amply exhibits how nefarious and politically motivated the ideas may be behind the ugly uproar against a great reformative initiative.

Under the Agnipath recruitment scheme, the Indian Army has issued a recruiting notice to fill 40,000 vacancies of Agniveers. Similarly, Indian Navy has released the recruitment notification for the Indian Navy Agniveers for 2800 posts. And as per the information given by the Indian Air Force, the just ended form filing process of the Air Force, has attracted 7,49,899 applications, compared to 6,31,528 applications in the past, which was the highest in any recruitment cycle.

The most fulfilling aspect of this process is the deluge of offers for the youth to be coming out of Armed Forces after four years of service to the nation. As per government directives, they would be offered employment in the Ministry of Defence, Indian Coast Guard and high profile public sector undertakings like HAL, BEL and BEML among others. The central home ministry announced in the very beginning that a 10% reservation would be given to the Agniveers in CAPF and Assam Rifles too. A number of state governments like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and others expressed preferences for recruitment of Agniveers in state police forces also.

Similarly, scores of companies are planning to roll out special opportunities for the Agniveers. Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra and Mahindra Group, Sanjeev Bikchandani, the co-founder of Info Edge, which is the parent company of Naukri.com, Harsh Goenka, the Chairman of RPG Group, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, Biocon head Honcho Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, Sangita Reddy, TVS Motor company managing director Sudarshan Venu are most prominent faces among them. Several leading companies including Infosys, Mahindra, IBM and others already have special provisions for hiring military veterans.

Moreover, the Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (DIAV) helps the retired personnel to smoothly transition to civilian jobs and life. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has training programme in place for Agniveers in sectors like automotive, agriculture, construction, healthcare, tourism, telecom, electronics, retail and logistics. The central government has had a number of meetings with several entities like telecom and other companies and organisations so as to train the Agniveers during the service years, besides having a well settled academic plan and professional curriculums.

It is no surprise that would be Agniveers are ecpected to be well-trained, disciplined, motivated, capable with high physical and mental prowess, having a flair for problem solving, young and spirited with a lot of potential to serve the nation in both the engines of growth and development, namely the Governemnt sector and the corporate world. By the time, these thousands of Agniveers would come out of the armed forces, many more corporate and government entities are expected to come up with a lot more special offers for them.

March towards Youth Engagement and Leadership

While many raise doubts and questions regarding the professional prospects for Agniveers after 4 years of intense training, a very foundational aspect is being missed out to be taken into consideration. Armed forces are known for discipline, compassion and service more than anything else. Not surprisingly, all these three qualities are also being seen as the essential requirement in the booming entrepreneurship and startup culture of New India. Combine ground training in extreme weather conditions and difficult terrains to the idea, and India is ready with trained, poised and industry-ready youth that is both able and eager to fill the country’s economic potholes. This lot will not only possess leadership qualities but their sense of service and submission are some of the natural instincts that the country can certainly look forward to.

Even before the process of recruitment starts under the transformative ‘Agnipath scheme’, the offers of jobs are splurging for the ‘Agniveers’ from both government and private entities. With Anand Mahindra- the chairman of the business conglomerate Mahindra Group and Harsh Goenka of RPG group announcing their readiness to hire ‘Agniveers’, many more corporate companies are expected to come up with such offers. Profusely appreciating the ‘Agnipath scheme’ Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the founder of Naurki.com has also said that Agniveers will have a sense of service and commitment and after serving the army for four years, they can easily adapt into a number of career options.

The calls pouring in for the Agniveers are exhilarating. State governments like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh among others have promised to give them reservations in state police forces and others. Union Home Ministry has already announced that the in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles, Agniveers would be given priority. CAPFs include forces such as BSF, CISF, CRPF, ITBP, NSG and SSB. An announcement of 10% reservation in the Coast Guard, defence civilian posts and all the 16 defence public sector undertakings (DPSU) has already been made. Many other central ministries, PSUs & corporations have also pledged priority to Agniveers.

To support the ‘Agniveers’ on completion of their tenure, various public sector banks, public sector insurance firms and financial institutions have committed to explore employment opportunities for them in a meeting with Finance Ministry. Banks have also committed to explore the possibilities of supporting ‘Agniveers’ through suitable credit facilities for skill upgradation, education for setting up ventures and to instill the notion entrepreneurship. Importantly, the present government schemes like ‘MUDRA Yojana’, ‘Stand Up India’ scheme among others would also be leveraged to extend support to these soldiers. Besides, the Department of Telecom held a meeting with all the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) like Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio and Vodafone-Idea to discuss ways and means on how they can be utilized. During discussions, some areas like Optical Fibre Maintenance, Air Conditioning equipment, provision of infrastructure especially last mile connectivity, Fibre to Home (FTTH) and in customer interface areas, were identified in which engagement and employment of ‘Agniveers’ could be done. Youth affairs and sports ministry under Anurag Thakur has also announced that after 4 years of service, Agniveers would be considered for appointment as physical education teachers in schools.

Officials from the Armed forces and skill development and education ministries have already begun discussions on building a framework to enhance skills to be acquired by Agniveers. In the first round, they identified sectors like aviation, shipping, automotive, drone technology and management, armoured vehicles management, submarine related skilling courses during their four years of service itself. Ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE) is going to collaborate with various wings of the armed forces to train the Agniveers in additional courses to offer them ‘Skill India Certificate’ while in service, enabling them to pursue diverse opportunities in entrepreneurship and job roles. All organizations related to ‘Skill India’ plan like Directorate General of Training, National Skill Development Corporation, various Sector Skills Councils, entrepreneurship institutes NIESBUD, IIE and skills regulators NCVET will be connected with this process of ensuring that Agniveers get the required certifications while in jobs.

Allaying the fears of fewer recruitments, Army vice-chief Lt-General B S Raju has said that Indian Army would progressively scale up the annual recruitment from 40,000 Agniveers this year to 1.2 lakh by the seventh or eighth year and then 1.6 lakh by the tenth or eleventh year under the Agnipath scheme. If apprehensions still exist, it is nothing but pure politics being played out by the vested interests, negatively fanning feelings of the youth.

Is Coaching really helpful?

Textbook definition of coaching is to get support in achieving a targeted personal or professional goal. More nuanced usage of this term is the process of giving a student extra teaching in a particular subject. Cultural moorings and history and current availability of types and competition for jobs in India have made coaching for few available jobs a booming industry in itself. A coaching culture of this kind in India is evidently growing every year, which seems to have been working inversely proportional to the vacancy figures being made available due to perverse incentives to tutors.

The problems of the students compound manifold as the promises and priorities of the majority of the coaching classes are misplaced since they hardly factor in the situations students face or are from. Their sole objective is to reap rich benefits by promising skies to the credulous parents and students. The fact also remains that there could be more than 100 times aspirants than the vacancies and all harbour the same dream of cracking a particular exam with all possible resources to their disposal, which without doubt create psychological, social and economic upheavals, resulting in violence and other ugly scenes in some parts of the country.

There is little denying the fact that a right kind of coaching proves helpful for especially the students coming from rural and semi-urban areas who are normally not aware or well-aware of the latest trends and practices of how to prepare for various exams. For example, a coaching is supposed to be giving them the right guidance, personalization of studies, new learning styles, tips for getting a competitive advantages, the proper utilization of time and routine, selection of subjects, getting to cover up specific chapters/subjects/topics among others. However the cons always overwhelm the pros. The cons also constitute additional expenditure on education by the poor middle class on coaching class which is rising rapidly, extra homework burden on students which causes physical and psychological stress to them and their families, focus on rote learning and curriculum being different from school academic structure among others.

The trend of having a parallel practice and guidance now seems to start right after a child completes his or her Kindergarten. The idea of having a coaching has become a trend today with parents too being unavailable for their part of impartations to children, and instead substituting it with coaching institutes. This has encouraged coaching institutes over last two decades to upgrade themselves with multiplied service packages, big promises with no guarantee, study material entrapment and tricky terms and conditions. This pressurises both types of students – those who take coachings, feel the pressure of clearing exams and the pressure increases manifold with more and more attempts and parents staring at them; and those who do not pursue coachings struggle with pressure of incompetence and fear of failure.

The situation can better be understood by the numbers of employees in central and state government services. The Union Budget for 2022-23 estimated the strength of central government employees at 34.65 lakh. If we add around 14 lakh armed forces, the number reaches to around 47 lakh employees. According to the report of the 7th Pay Commission, the total sanctioned strength of the central government was around 38.9 lakh in 2014. The central government employs around 8.5% of organised workforce with armed forces being the biggest employer. The military constitutes around 30% of the central workforce, followed by railways with around 28% share in central employees. Even among central government jobs the majority of government employees belong to group C with a share of 88.7%, followed by group B with 8.5% share and group A with just 2.8% of the share. While, state governments employ around one crore people. The average recruitment in the central government between 2006 and 2014, was a little over one lakh a year. But the number of youth preparing for government jobs both central and states, stands at several millions. The largest employer armed forces recruit around 60 thousands a year and each year, those knocking the job market stand at around 1.2 Crores. Solution to this is employment in stricter sense of being engaged in productive work, not necessarily a job. Agnipath is one marvellous program which is bound to transform the lives of the selected Agniveers, whether they continue in the job or step out and become an entrepreneur.

Strategic Evolution of Indian Armed Forces

Geography is important for Indian defence. Indian Peninsula is a distinct landmass with half its territory landlocked, major mountain ranges in the North, and the other southern half surrounded by 3 different oceans. Such a distinct, versatile and difficult geographic perimeter is guarded and patrolled by the Indian Armed Force, prime guardians of national integrity and sovereignty. From guarding the world’s highest battlefield in Siachen, to being posted in the extremely hot Thar and other desert regions in the west, to patrolling the politically sensitive Indo-China Border region and Bangladesh border region in the Eastern part, to guarding the never-ending stretch of the Indian Coastline, the Armed Forces patrol the entire length and breadth of the country even with unforgiving weather conditions beating down on them.

Indian armed forces evolved into a world class group of fighting forces since independence to meet the fast-increasing security, intelligence and strategic needs of the country. It requires to be noted that we had inherited a military that had been created, trained and equipped by the British regime to protect and consolidate their interests only. From a British led and man-power oriented force to truly techno-mechanised security personnel, we have seen revolutionary changes in past 75 years. These changes didn’t come in a day or two, but by fighting different threatres of war from western desert to Europe, to the forest of Burma and matching and exercising with the mightiest and most modernised troops of Europe, America, Israel and others. In between, Indian armed forces also fought several wars, which also proved to be the best training for both military and political establishments.

As per some estimates, presently at third position in military might in the world, it was hard for the Indian army to imagine that in the span of 75 years, a poverty-stricken, fragmented and deeply traumatised country would emerge as a military powerhouse. This transformation required continuous reforms of the processes as to how armed forces should operate keeping in view the fast changes in the global military practices. Certainly, the evolving global and regional strategic environments and perceptions have helped us grow much faster in last 8 years, however the increased focus spurred by the recognition of the needs and fast political decision makings have truly transformed the Indian army during these years. Changes gaining much momentum with a lot of thrust on self-sufficiency in terms of defence productions, are something, that can easily be seen. India’s growing military prowess has also resulted in a more robust and adventurist foreign policy in last few years.

The Indian military, Navy and Air Forces all are undergoing rapid expansion and transformation. Not only armed forces have grown like anything, but now, India has a robust air force with most modern fighter jets capable of playing both defensive and offensive roles, as have been seen in recent years and the strength of the navy is also rapidly growing with the fast acquisitions and developments of aircrafts carriers, submarines and a number of other world class navel assets.

Women participation and induction has also increased in the armed forces unprecedentedly. The number of women officers are almost tripled in about 6 years. Till recently, women were only part of ground duty in the Indian Army but now, women are flying aircraft in the Navy and Air Force, and now the Indian Army has also opened the way for women pilots by starting the ‘Army Aviation course’. in 2021, 83 women had been inducted as Jawans for the first time in the Indian Army. It is also heartening to note here that three women officers have been granted the rank of lieutenant general or equivalent.

Furthering the reform, for the first time, some kind of reservation has been devised for the armed forces with the Centre announcing a 10% reservation for ‘Agniveers’ along with a 3-year age relaxation above the upper age limit in the recruitment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Assam Rifles under ‘Agnipath scheme’- an attractive and transformative defence recruitment scheme of the Government of India. Moreover, India is rapidly upgrading its defence capabilities with more than 93 military modernization projects worth more than 18.4 billion dollar currently in progress. That is something every Indian should be proud of.

Building Smart Machine and Men Indigenously

Internet was a US military invention which went on to change the way humans live. Defence sector across the developed as well as developing countries spends a lot on R&D as well as in purchase, manufacturing and maintenance of traditional as well as cutting edge equipment.

According to a report by SIPRI (as of 25 April, 2022), India stands as the third largest military spender in the world. India has been endorsing the idea of building a strong indigenous defence manufacturing capacity and seeking investments from both foreign and domestic companies alike in the sector. Both the developments hint towards the unprecedented churn in the Indian defence ecosystem, which is giving a much-needed impetus to India’s fast-evolving defence economy.

India is rapidly modernising its defence capabilities to keep the Armed Forces in a state of readiness. More than 93 military modernization projects worth around Rs 1.43 Lakh Crore are currently in progress. In recent years, India has taken several ground breaking steps like creating defence planning committee, introduction of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, Technology Development Fund scheme, appointment of CDS to bring in greater synergy with Ministry of Defence, long term modernization plan by factoring the emerging or futuristic security situations, Army Design bureau, reorganization of Army headquarters, setting up of defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Military Technology Cooperation, increased foreign collborations, among others.

The ‘Make in India’ initiative for defence is also being carried out with 3 different treatments – Make I (90% government funded, with vendor), Make II (prototype development or upgradation of of equipment/system/platform, with zero government funding), and Make III (joining hands with foreign firms for production on Indian soil). Under the ‘Make in India’ program indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipments are being vigorously encouraged in the country, thereby reducing import of defence equipment.

The defence budget for the financial year 2022-23 is Rs 5,25,166 crore, an increase of Rs 46,970 crores or 9% over last year’s Rs 4,78,196 crore. As per the budget, Rs 1.52 lakh crore is being spent in capital expenditure, which relates to modernisation and infrastructure development of the Armed Forces only. Out of this 1.52 lakh crore, 68% of the amount is being spent on indigenous manufacturing to encourage investments and attract fresh capacity creation. An increase of more than 10% in back-to-back capital budgets expresses the continued push towards the modernisation of the armed forces. 25% of defence R&D budget is earmarked for private industries, startups and academia. Private industry is being encouraged to take up design and development of military platforms and equipment in collaboration with DRDO and other organizations through special purpose vehicle model.

Ease of doing business is helping indigenous defence production too. An independent nodal umbrella body created for meeting wide ranging testing and certification requirements of defence systems and platforms, is helping domestic industry through faster processes and cost-efficiency. Two positive indigenisation lists comprising 101 and 108 items were promulgated by Department of Military Affairs (DMA) under Ministry of Defence in recent months. In addition, to minimize import by DPSUs, Department of Defence Production has also notified a positive indigenisation list of things, in which 2500 items are already indigenized. Government is also considering adding more items for indigenous production. Timeline to add more items is reviewed continuously based on the requirements of Armed Forces as well as capability of domestic industry. Despite all these revolutionary efforts, India still needs to introduce many more reforms to rise to the fast changing security situations. Schemes like ‘Agnipath’ seem to be a product of the same restructuring thought.

Preparing Youth for the VUCA World we live in

Singapore, South Korea and Israel are some of the countries with policy to get male citizens to serve a period of compulsory service in the uniformed services. In Israel its mandatory for women too. Most of the young adults in these countries serve two to three years around the age of 18 as trainees. Apart from obvious benefits of military training, these youth have been observed to pick up the traits of Tenacity of Purpose in Performing Missions and Drive to Victory, Responsibility, Credibility, Professionalism, Discipline, Comradeship, and Sense of Mission. Any country with youth imbibed with such wonderful traits is better prepared for the VUCA world we live in, and are going to be successful against all odds, which we have seen in these countries.

While choosing between a government job that offers stability or a private job that opens avenues of opportunities, may still be a question haunting many young minds, one fact remains that now job security carries insignificant meaning as the enterprising young lot spends time and effort to explore career avenues with acquired substance in the form of money, experience, exposure and performance. Youth is engaging in highly competitive and rewarding work culture and atmosphere caring a little for post retirement benefits, as can be seen in the rising craze for startups, unicorns, innovations, sports etc.

Till now, the main advantages driving the youth from especially middle and lower economic strata of the society for the central government Jobs are- relatively good salary based upon the profile of the job and qualifications of the claimants, allowances, job and social security, insurance cover, leaves, vacations, housing benefits, health and other benefits. However, things have changed with scores of funding opportunities available.

Hence, ‘Agnipath’- an attractive and transformative defence recruitment scheme of the Government of India has been designed to give lakhs of youth of the country, not just one career avenue or chance but quite a few. Being an essential part of the future-ready soldier, they are set to stand out in crowd and after four years of service with their changed attitude, skills, discipline, sense of timing and responsibilities. The new system is sure to attract even those who want to stay with the armed forces only for a few years out of the love for the nation and then want to do something else of their choice with a different aptitude, attitude and perspective towards life, society and nation building. One can also expect a lot of defence-related startups mushrooming 3-4 years from now across the country, taking the defence ecosystem to hit new heights.

The new scheme envisions creating a youthful profile of the Armed forces with newer technologies with being able to use the whole range of weapons and communication devices used across the world by the most advanced armies of the world. Strengthening the very connect between society and the military does serve many a purpose and the government wants to bring the armed forces closer to the people in general. 75% of the Agniveers going to the society after serving 4 years in the army, will also take with themselves the ideals and ideas for the country and society, discipline, serving tendencies, physical, mental and emotional prowess that the armed forces stand for.

The definition of Employment is changing tones at a dynamic rate across the globe. Youth across the world has left the conventional way of finding a set-patterned occupation behind and is engaging in opportunities which are tech-oriented, varied and skill-based in a global setting where different sectors are both inter-mingled and unexplored. India is one of the countries where the pace of change is much higher because of regional, cultural and religious diversity. Unlike earlier, when only academic qualifications and government jobs occupied the center stage, now, major thrust is laid on certain essential skills like ambition, entrepreneurial mindset even in a job, willingness to continuously learn and evolve, soft-skills and communication, ability to listen and assert, confidence, perseverance and risk taking ability among others to succeed in both life and profession.