Development for the next generation (WDR 2007)
Challenges in South Asia Region (SAR)
A Consultative Workshop
December 16 and 17, 2005, New Delhi

The India Development Foundation (IDF) in collaboration with the World Bank organized a two day consultative workshop on a host of issues concerning the youth in South Asia. The theme of the forthcoming World Development Report (WDR)-2007, an annual publication of the World Bank is youth. The central objective of the workshop was to harness important insights on the theme of youth and development which could be incorporated as inputs into the report. Demographic changes, rapid leaps in technology, liberalization and global integration have shaped the nature of development challenges confronting the youth. The workshop was attended by development practitioners, policy makers, corporates, NGOs and the academic community. The South Asian countries represented were India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal. The discussions at the workshop produced a rich harvest of ideas and revealed the commonality of problems and possible solutions across the countries of South Asia.

Plenary Session

Sudeep Banerjee, Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development
Sudeep Banerjee delivered the keynote address in which he emphasized the importance of the public education system in human capital formation in India. He expressed concern over the deteriorating standards of government educational institutions and stressed the need to revamp the system.

Message of WDR – 2007
Nistha Sinha, Core team member, WDR – 2007, the World Bank
Nistha Sinha made a presentation outlining the proposed structure of the forthcoming issue of the World Development Report (WDR) with youth as its central theme. She discussed the important stages of transition in the life of the youth, and the policy interventions which can be put in place at each stage to maximize their well-being and their contribution to the society at large.

Technical Session I

Kirit Parikh, Member, Planning Commission was the Chair of this session.

Looking beyond the Numbers: Youth and Development in Sri Lanka
Prashan Thalaysingam, Center for Policy Analysis, Sri Lanka
Prashan Thalaysingam made a presentation on the problems faced by the youth in Sri Lanka based on qualitative data. High levels of unemployment, delinquent behaviour amongst the youth, disillusionment with the State and the persistence of extremism are the problems that the youth in Sri Lanka are confronting. These can be attributed to the inadequacy of the education system, breakdown of law and order due to civil strife, apathy of the State, lack of supporting infrastructure and poverty, all of which need to be addressed immediately. He emphasized the need for policies specifically targeting the unique problems of the youth. Presentation

Demographic Bonus: Profiling Different States in India
P.N Mari Bhatt, Institute of Economic Growth, India
In his presentation Mari Bhatt discussed the demographic bonus in the context of Indian demographic change. He made certain projections about the magnitude of the demographic bonus in India. He cautioned that in the absence of immediate steps to increase employment opportunities to absorb the productive age groups, the growth opportunity offered by the one-time temporary demographic bonus would be lost forever. Presentation

Technical Session II

This session was Chaired by Tara Vishwanath, Lead Economist, The World Bank.

Employment Avenues for the Youth in India
Manisha G. Singh, India Development Foundation, India
Manisha Singh discussed the unemployment problem in India at a macro level. She highlighted the large demand-supply gap in the Indian labour market arising out of low levels of skill and education. She stressed the need for improving the employability of the youth through universal education, skilling programs, access to information, community services to promote greater labour force participation of women, labour law reforms and the provision of a social safety network to alleviate temporary distress. Presentation

Impact of Globalization on Labour Mobility in India: Implications for Policy
Kaivan Munshi, Brown University, USA
Kaivan Munshi’s presentation explored the manner in which traditional institutions such as caste and marriage influence decisions relating to integration with the modern society such as schooling choices. His evidence from Maharahshtra and a few tea estates in South India showed that in the liberalized Indian economy, individuals of a historically disadvantaged group tend to invest more in attempts to improve their human capital. Thus developmental policies should focus on providing economic opportunities to disadvantaged groups as this has substantial pay-offs. Presentation

Non-farm Employment in Rural India
Wilima Wadhwa, India
Wilima Wadhwa presented the findings of her study which revealed that improving agricultural productivity is the most effective poverty reduction strategy in India. Agricultural wages were seen to have responded more to changes in farm productivity than non-farm productivity. Presentation

Youth and Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
Gopal Jain, India
Gopal Jain made an impromptu presentation on the various innovative ways in which the youth can be involved in programs to promote sustainable development. Presentation

Technical Session III

Peter Berman, Lead Economist, The World Bank was the Chair for this session.

Skilling the Youth
General S. S. Mehta, Confederation of Indian Industry, India
General Mehta made a presentation on the critical importance of skilling in improving the abysmally low levels of productivity in India. In the context of the demographic bonus and the excess demand for skilled labour across the globe, India has the potential of becoming the ‘skills capital of the world’. He outlined some very practical solutions to mitigate the bias against skill acquisition in India. Some of the possible solutions mentioned were utilization of under-utilized infrastructure facilities for imparting technical training, certification of skills by a credible certifying agency, introduction of flexible and short duration skilling programs. He stressed that in view of the diversity of India, skilling initiatives would have to be tailor-made for different regions. Presentation

Education and Employment: Focus on the Young and Vulnerable
Amir Ullah Khan, India Development Foundation, India
Amir Ullah Khan gave an overview of the various dimensions of the youth unemployment problem in India at the macro and the micro level. His observations on inter-state migration were ba sed on a primary survey of workers in Jharkhand, Mumbai and Delhi. The main problem today is the severe shortage of employable technical, entrepreneurial and soft skills. He suggested a number of measures which can be put in place to meet the growing demand for new skills. These included a revamp of the existing educational system, reform of the legal framework, public-private partnerships in the education sector, diversification of rural livelihood options and the development of innovative financial instruments to finance skill acquisition and start-ups.Presentation

Addressing the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Married Adolescent Girls in India
K.G. Santhya, Population Council, India
K.G. Santhya discussed the unique reproductive and health problems of adolescent married women in India which have not received due importance in research and policy circles. She gave insights into the reasons behind the vulnerability of these women such as lack of awareness, limited autonomy, absence of a peer network and limited recourse to institutional health facilities. She highlighted the importance of a holistic approach targeting couples, their relatives and the community at large to improve the health of married adolescent women. She cited the example of the ‘First Time Parents Project’ involving young women and their spouses in rural Gujrat and West Bengal. Empowering young women through information, ensuring access to health care services, greater participation in community activities, sensitization of men, increasing the skill level of women through training, and committed and trained health workers formed an integral part of the program. Presentation

Adolescent and Youth Reproductive Health– Issues, Programmes and Operational Barriers
Ruwanthi N. Elwalagedara, Health Policy Research, Sri Lanka
Ruwanthi N. Elwalagedara discussed the reproductive health problems of the youth in Sri Lanka. She outlined the existing attempts by government and non-government agencies to tackle these problems, the lacunae in these attempts and possible workable solutions to the problem. Economic distress has contributed to a number of youth problems such as early and unwanted pregnancy, abortions, incidence of STDs, AIDS and sexual abuse amongst the youth. Existing programs to promote better reproductive health have failed to be effective due to the inadequacy of trained reproductive health workers, cultural conservatism, lack of health services targeting adolescents, inadequacy of research and myopia on the part of the government.Presentation

Youth in Pakistan: Insights from the (nationally representative) Adolescent and Youth in Pakistan in 2003 Minhaj ul Haque, Population Council, Pakistan
Minhaj ul Haque provided insights into the problems of adolescent youth in Pakistan at various stages in their lives such as schooling, work, marriage and parenthood. An exploration of issues relating to mobility, decision making powers, expectations of the family, access to education, participation in the labour force and marriage showed t hat though the outcomes are gradually improving, women are far worse off than men in the conservative society. He stressed the importance of women’s empowerment, education, skilling and creation of productive employment opportunities for improving the well being of the youth.Presentation

Roundtable
Unemployment or Unemployability: What to Attack?
The presentation of papers was followed by a roundtable moderated by Dr Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, Director, India Development Foundation. Among the range of issues that were discussed were- the bankability of skills; the need for an attitudinal change in favour of vocational and technical education; responsibilities of the government with regard to the provision of education and employment; suitability of legal mandates versus incentives in encouraging greater private sector participation in the education sector; alternative forms of public-private partnerships in the area of education and skilling; temporary and enablingpolicy interventions to promote entrepreneurship in the SME sector; better targeting of subsidies to the education sector; reform of the anachronistic legal framework through decentralization and amendments; ways of realigning the education system with market requirements; ways of promoting greater participation of women in the labour force; alternative vocational training and apprenticeship schemes for skill generation; certification of skills; increasing employability in the unorganised sector accounting for over 90% of the total employment and effective utilization of resources designated for the education sector. Presentation