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Equitable education and galloping pharma spearheading progress: India at USISPF summit
Stress on importance of opening doors for foreign universities to set up campuses in India and prioritizing competency over traditional degrees.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Punya Salila Srivastava. / USISPF
India is promoting equitable education in a globalised world through its New Education Policy, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Oct.14 while addressing the USISPF India Leadership Summit 2024 in New Delhi.
During a fireside chat featuring Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, and Marvin Krislov, President of Pace University, Pradhan pointed out India’s strides in the education sector. He outlined the significant progress under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, noting the policy's focus on fostering a competency-based, knowledge-driven economy.
“NEP 2020 is going to have a global impact,” Pradhan stated. He highlighted India’s embrace of new technologies, the promotion of learning in Indian languages, and efforts to enhance research and employability skills. The minister said the NEP is also focusing on is research of global standards. There will be agreements for research partnerships with institutions, tie-ups with new areas and up with governments, he said.
As NEP 2020 approaches its fifth anniversary, Pradhan reflected on India’s evolving education landscape, which aims to develop a future-ready generation of global citizens. He stressed the importance of opening doors for foreign universities to set up campuses in India and moving toward prioritizing competency over traditional degrees. “India will fulfill the aspirations of its society and become a growth engine for the world,” he added.
Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Punya Salila Srivastava, highlighted India’s leading role in the global pharmaceutical industry. She noted that India is the third-largest producer of pharmaceuticals and a key supplier of generic medicines, significantly reducing healthcare costs worldwide, particularly in the U.S. “India has the highest number of US FDA-approved pharmaceutical plants outside of the United States, accounting for 25 percent of the total,” she said. The Indian pharmaceutical industry’s contributions have led to $219 billion in savings for the U.S. healthcare system in 2022 and $1.3 trillion between 2013 and 2022.
Srivastava also affirmed India’s dominance in vaccine production, stating, “50 percent of all vaccines manufactured globally come from India. Of the 8 billion vaccine doses produced and distributed worldwide last year, 4 billion were made in India.” She discussed the country’s reforms in medical education, which have increased the number of medical and nursing colleges, thereby addressing healthcare professional shortages and ensuring a skilled workforce to meet both domestic and global demands.
Regarding healthcare cost-effectiveness, Srivastava noted that out-of-pocket expenditure for households in India has decreased by 25 percentage points between 2013-14 and 2021-22, reflecting the government’s expanded healthcare services. She further elaborated on India’s strong partnership with the U.S. in healthcare, particularly in disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance. "India appreciates the NCDC and ICMR Field Epidemiology Training Programs, organized in collaboration with the U.S. CDC. Over 200 Epidemic Intelligence Services (EIS) Officers have been trained, with 50 more undergoing training,” she said.
She also highlighted the launch of the U.S.-India Cancer Moonshot Dialogue, focusing on cervical cancer research, with partnerships between institutions like AIIMS and Tata Memorial Hospital. "Reflecting India's vision of ‘One World, One Health,’ a $7.5 million grant has been dedicated to cancer testing and diagnostics in the Indo-Pacific region," Srivastava added.
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