India needs to double its number of universities to 2,500 to ensure at least 50% of its student-age cohort enrolls in higher education, said NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam. Speaking at the Indian School of Business (ISB), he highlighted that only 29% of students currently pursue university education despite the opening of one university and two colleges weekly over the past decade. Subrahmanyam emphasized the need for innovative approaches to education delivery and noted India’s robust digital infrastructure, which he called the world’s largest digital laboratory for experimentation.
Highlighting India’s advancements, Subrahmanyam pointed out the widespread adoption of digital public infrastructure, with over 120 crore citizens having bank accounts and universal digital identities. He described India as a hub for fintech innovation, citing that nearly half of all global financial transactions occur in the country, facilitated by systems like UPI. He also touched on broader developmental progress, such as significant strides in housing, drinking water supply, and transportation infrastructure, which have lifted millions out of poverty.
Looking ahead, Subrahmanyam projected India as a $30 trillion economy by 2047, surpassing the current sizes of the US and Chinese economies. He stressed the importance of innovation, particularly in areas like AI, semiconductors, and climate change technologies, to maintain India’s global competitiveness. NITI Aayog, he said, is actively working on economic planning, agricultural transformation, and setting global benchmarks for emerging technologies to position India as a leader in frontier fields.