Gandhinagar: India will lose its demographic “dividend” to a demographic “explosion” if it does not train its youth in the skills required to operate in the future world, President Pranab Mukherjee said here today.

While intearcting with the students of ‘Bapu Gujarat Knowledge Village and Samarpan Education and Research Campus’, he urged students to work hard and “contribute” towards the advancement of the society, to which they belong and come from.

Mukherjee asked students to become the “agents of change” and work diligently as he said education was the basis of an advanced society.

“The demographic dividend that we have will turn into demographic explosion if we do not train them (youth) with necessary skills required for the future world,” he said.

The President said it was a matter of concern that no Indian institution of higher learning figures in the top 200 universities when global rankings are done.

He said the Indian economy was growing fast and India has “overcome that stage”, adding that we must celebrate our diversity as India functions under one flag and one constitution.

Mukherjee also expressed confidence in the capabilities of the Indian youth, saying the country’s young talent does not “carry any baggage” and the world belongs to them.

The President is on a two-day tour to Gujarat. He had arrived in Gandhinagar yesterday.

Diversity should not be converted into uniformity: President

Gandhinagar:India should celebrate diversity and must not artificially try to convert it into “uniformity”, President Pranab Mukherjee said here today.

Observing that the country’s economy is growing at very fast pace, Mukherjee said it was not an accident or an achievement of one or two years.

“Today, we have 1.25 billion people on land. We have 1,800 dialects, 200 languages used in every day life, have seven religions, three major ethnic groups,” Mukherjee said at a function of Bapu Gujarat Knowledge Village, a college run by senior Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela.

“It’s possible because of our cultural liberalisation.

It’s because of our spirit that we must celebrate our diversity. We must not try to remove diversity and artificially try to convert diversity into uniformity,” he said.

Mukherjee said this is the teaching of our ancient saints, philosophers and leaders.

“Many septics have expressed their doubts over makers of Indian constitution that it is a poor country, illiterate, diseased. How could any highly sophisticated parliamentary constitutional mechanism be established there…

“One of the personal friends of (Jawaharlal) Nehru, Sir Frank, who later became the Prime Minister of England, said Constitution was your idealism. However, after successful conduct of two general elections, the same person said it (Constitution) is most significant, magnificent, Magna Carta (a significant document in British history) of socio-economic transformation,” he said.

The President said the country had embarked on the road of socio-economic transformation through the Constitution.

He said Indian economy has been growing at a very fast rate which is a result of sustained efforts.

“Indian economy is growing very fast and this is not accident or the achievement of one or two years. Over last one-and-a-half decades, our GDP growth has been more than 7.5 per cent.

“(For) couple of years, we had 8.5 per cent (growth).

Yes, we have left behind us the age when one of the noted economist jokingly told us that 3.5 per cent was Hindu growth rate of economy,” Mukherjee said.

He warned of a “demographic explosion” if India fails to provide necessary skills to the youth for securing jobs.

“By 2030 or within 14 years from now, India will have the largest working population but this won’t pay us dividend and may turn into demographic explosion if we do not give them necessary skills required for jobs,” Mukherjee added.

PTI