"The Higher Education Summit: Roadmap for the Future"
December 1-2, 2004, New Delhi

Welcome Address by Mr. Y. K. Modi, President, FICCI

Dr John L Hennessy, President, Stanford University, USA
Dr Kirit S Parikh, Member, Planning Commission
Prof. Arun Nigavekar, Chairman, University Grants Commission
Ms Sushma Berlia, Chairperson- FICCI Education Committee
Ladies and Gentlemen

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this Higher Education Summit: Road Map for the future being organised by FICCI in partnership with the University Grants Commission.

In the mid-50s, an economist from your University, Stanford, by the name of Dennison, attempted to measure the sources of 100 years of economic growth of United States. He used the classical model of labour and capital as the key factors which contribute to growth. To his utter surprise, Dennison found that these two factors could explain only 40 per cent of American economic growth. Even if he were to include technology embedded in new capital goods, perhaps he could explain another 20 per cent. Thus, he gave up in despair and called the remaining 40 percent unexplained source of growth the "residual". Since then, James Tobin and others have shown that much of this 40 per cent came from "human capital". And a significant part of that human capital lay in the higher ends of the human capital chain, what we now call 'higher education'.

Today, we are transiting into a new world, what FICCI calls the world of "knowledge capital" - a world replete with complex webs of knowledge exchange and cyber transmissions which go much beyond the traditional norms of human capital. Obviously, the driver of this brave new world would be the critical thinking capacities and search for paradigms in the echelons of higher education.

New ideas, fresh perspectives and out of the box innovative thinking conducted in the Universities and laboratories, both private and public, will push the frontiers of the 21st century forward. Thus, the importance of this Conference, which will critically and constructively examine the state of higher education in India and bring up sustainable solutions for the 21st century - a Century in which India is poised to become the third largest economy in the world, if not the second largest.

Needless to say that we have much to learn from global experiences, particularly those of the United States which has an unusual mix of the world's leading institutions of higher learning in the private sector, and extremely valuable Land Grand Universities and State-owned Universities which provide higher education to thousands of students across economic backgrounds and racial origins. This is why we are so proud to have with us the President of Stanford University who, I am sure, will through fresh light on where higher education is going in this century, what challenges it will face, and what new vistas will open up. Dr. Parekh and Prof. Nigavekar will offer the Indian context along with Mrs. Barlia's theme presentation.

I must also draw your attention to the gigantic demographic shift under way in India. 547 million people in this country are below the age of 25 and more and more of them would be aspiring to seek higher education. Yet, only 6-7 per cent of our youth in the age group of 18-23 are a part of our higher educational experience. FICCI's projection is that we would need to provide higher education to 150 million students out of the 547 million who are below 25 years today. Unfortunately, out of the 13 million students who qualify for higher education, only 8 million are able to avail of this facility.

Obviously, the private sector will have to play a massive role in meeting the challenge of tomorrow. While it takes in students who can pay for their own education, the nation has to create instruments with government and private partnership to provide higher education facilities to the needy yet meritorious.

Your country, President Henesey, has FAFSA loans, it has 'City Assist Loans' - soft loans with no collaterals and payable by a student over 30 years of their earning life. We have just begun in that direction vis-à-vis bank lending, but we have miles to go. Majority of our 306 Universities and over 15,000 colleges rely on government funding with practically no fees and thus, subjecting themselves to a number of rules, regulations and complicated and sometimes labyrinthine government structures. In order to introduce innovations, critical thinking skills, and flexibility we need radical change. We need a new vision and new milestones. This Conference, I hope, will confront fearlessly and yet constructively, this challenge.

Yes, we have a pool of 3.4 million science graduates. Almost a million engineers, almost half a million doctors, but the potential is much higher and the need for quality much deeper. FICCI, as the apex Chamber of India, with practically 20 million people working in companies that are affiliated to us, is in search for answers.

Mrs Berlia heading the Apeejay Education Society and Chairing the Education Committee of FICCI, has taken a lead today in constructing new models, policy recommendations and implementation plans. I am grateful to her for her commitment and drive.

The University Grants Commission, our partner for this event, has brought to us the Vice Chancellors, and Heads of Institutions. I am grateful, indeed.

I must recognize The National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, FICCI's knowledge partner for this conference, for producing a thought provoking paper. Conferences like this cannot be organized without sponsors. I thank them all, including Apeejay and Symbiosis.

We are looking forward to stimulating discussions and most importantly, some firm recommendations in the domain of policy, which FICCI could place before the government. We are also hoping that the private institutions gathered here will be enriched with new perspective for their own restructuring and towards higher benchmarking in this globalising world. Thank you.