Government and private sector together need to make the foundation of education in the 21st century, said Mr Kapil Sibal, Minister for Human Resource Development, laying down a five-point agenda for greater co-operation with the US in the higher education sector.
Mr Sibal was addressing a discussion organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and US India Business Council on October 14, in Washington D.C.
The Minister said that the US universities in partnership with Indian universities and industry can engage in research and development at one-third the cost. But, the US would first need to change its regulatory environment.
He suggested that the Indian private sector could invest in setting up universities, and faculty and scholars from the US could then operate from India. Big US companies such as Boeing, Motorola and Ford, which have large operations in India, should invest in educational institutions in their respective fields where both Indian and the US students can study, he added.
Stressing on the need to scale up academia-industry collaboration, Mr Hari Bhartia, Chairman and Managing Director, Jubilant Life Sciences, said the Indian Government needed to provide larger research grants to attract the best talent.