India relies on its most precious resource: a massive young population. But according to Akshat Shrivastava, founder of Wisdom Hatch, failing to properly educate and channel this population could be a disaster for the country’s economic ambitions.
In a pointed social media post, Shrivastava wrote: “We don’t have oil, so we can’t get rich. We don’t have an autocratic government, so we can’t get rich like China. Fact: Every country has something valuable. We have a huge young population. If you keep them poorly educated and turn them into reel-making freeloaders, of course we’ll never get rich.
Shrivastava’s comments highlight the critical juncture India is going through in its economic journey. If we often compare India and China, the figures are sobering.
In 1980, India’s GDP per capita was almost double that of China. Today, China’s GDP per capita, at $25,015, is 2.5 times greater than India’s $10,123. Similarly, China’s exports, valued at $3.5 trillion, dwarf India’s $0.78 trillion.
Although India has made progress, particularly over the last decade, it remains far behind in leveraging its human capital. Shrivastava’s concerns echo broader fears about the misuse of resources.
“Consumption and economic growth depend on how we educate and engage this generation. Right now, we are not doing enough,” he suggested.
Shrivastava’s concerns echo those of Raghuram Rajan, a former RBI governor and professor at the University of Chicago, who has criticized India’s economic policy priorities. Rajan recently argued that India’s focus on large-scale projects such as semiconductor manufacturing rather than critical investments in education was misguided. He pointed out that India spends more on subsidies for chipmaking than its annual budget for higher education.
“This is definitely not the right way to become a developed nation,” Rajan said.
