Transformation for Viksit Bharat

Entrepreneurial skills may be inherent in all, but their magnitude and successful manifestation depend substantially on the presence of a conducive environment. Successive Union Budgets have bolstered the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country, especially for startups. For instance, Budget 2023 had announced the PM Vishwakarma Scheme for artisans and craftspeople.

The scheme has the objective of enabling entrepreneurs to establish their own enterprises. The latest Budget 2026 too, has announced initiatives to make credit and technology more accessible and affordable for entrepreneurs. Specifically, the announcements relate to assuring equity, liquidity and professional support to relatively smaller entrepreneurs who do need handholding.

Environmental conditions are sculpted by education. Education forms the foundation of life. By stressing on the roots of that foundation, National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to ensure that the lives of the millions affected by the revamped education system become better. NEP 2020 is revolutionising the education landscape of the country. The sweeping changes which it has envisaged can only strengthen the foundational base of students. NEP recognises that education is multidimensional. 

The joy of learning opens up avenues for the future of students. Availability of smart-boards, digital library, well-stocked multi-lingual physical libraries, Jadui Pitara, being conscious about environmental protection, adapting teaching techniques to the needs of students, instead of relying on rote learning, and most importantly, highlighting the necessity of competitive survival, contribute to the holistic development of the students. 

Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) aims to develop 14,500 schools across the country which can showcase best practices, while amplifying the tenets of NEP 2020 and become ideals for other schools in the vicinity. An important aspect of learning observed in PM SHRI schools is the way studying has been made enjoyable. State-of-the-art technology, innovative methods of teaching, learning from real-life examples, upgraded infrastructure, higher capacity building of teachers and a continuous inherent mechanism of monitoring and evaluation, have positive outcomes.  

Students are being encouraged to be inquisitive and innovative. They are not merely being trained to become future-ready, but to be future-global-ready. In this context, a noteworthy point is that the technology made available to the students has an equalising impact, diminishing the feeling of deprivation, if any, which a student may have. 

PM SHRI endeavours to take all stakeholders on board. The effective implementation of public welfare schemes needs skilled and proficient human resources, which these students are preparing themselves to become. While there is an emphasis on learning by doing in the science laboratories, there is also a stress on making students self-reliant. In the long run, budding scientists, mathematicians, entrepreneurs and athletes are proudly gearing up to respond to the questions of how they made their schools proud.

A recent visit to Kurnool, a district in Andhra Pradesh, to inspect PM SHRI schools revealed to me that the foundation of building entrepreneurs in India is starting early. In some PM SHRI schools of the district, where the students are the first generation in their families to have ever attended a school, the smart intertwining of vocational education with the remaining curriculum is remarkable. 

Vocational studies find more takers than hard-core academics, drawing more and more students to hone their creativity. Vocational studies score over drab subjects by their sheer interesting aspects. It was heartening to observe that in one of the most backward regions of the district, where out-migration is rampant during the dry spring and summer months, students have been steadfast in their pursuit of learning. Their performances in the school final exams have been record-breaking. There is a zeal to learn and an eagerness to outperform not just their peers, but themselves too. Students exude confidence and undoubtedly are the catalysts of moulding villages in the path to achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047. 

Drawing an analogy from Bhagvad Gita, a student elucidated to me the Law of Conservation of Energy, stating how energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Just like the soul, energy transforms itself, thereby being prescient about the imminent transformation of the country into Viksit Bharat.

The author is an officer of the Indian Economic Service. Views are personal.