1. India’s Youth and Education Landscape: 2023–2025

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Between 2023 and 2025, India focused on transforming its education ecosystem to harness the full potential of its young population—the largest in the world. With over 600 million people under the age of 25, India views education, skilling, and youth development as strategic pillars of its socio-economic future.

Key developments during this period included:

• Implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 gathered momentum, driving reforms in curriculum, pedagogy, and institutional autonomy.

• Digital learning platforms expanded significantly, offering hybrid models of instruction across schools, universities, and vocational training.

• Government and industry intensified collaboration to align technical and vocational education with emerging market demands, including AI, robotics, green jobs, and entrepreneurship.

• Internationalization of higher education gained pace, with new regulatory frameworks enabling global partnerships and foreign universities to operate in India.

India’s approach during this phase combined inclusion, innovation, and internationalization to build a future-ready talent base.

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2. Key Challenges and Transition Drivers

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• Regional disparities in access to quality education remained a challenge, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas.

• Skill mismatches persisted between graduate output and labor market requirements, especially in digital and green economy sectors.

• Teacher capacity, curriculum modernization, and learning outcomes continued to require systemic strengthening.

• Youth unemployment and underemployment pushed national and state-level skilling initiatives to become more demand-driven.

• Growing student mobility and aspirations for global exposure created strong demand for international degrees, exchange programs, and dual certifications.

India’s demographic dividend depends on successfully bridging the gap between education and employability.

 

3. France–India Collaboration in Youth and Education

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France and India have developed a robust and growing partnership in education, research, and youth mobility:

• Student exchanges between France and India increased steadily, supported by bilateral scholarship programs and institutional agreements.

• French institutions have built long-standing collaborations with Indian universities in fields such as science, engineering, business, design, and sustainability.

• Dual degrees, joint PhDs, and co-delivered programs became more prominent, offering global competencies and cross-cultural experience.

• Youth-focused initiatives included language learning, entrepreneurship bootcamps, and co-innovation labs supported by public and private stakeholders.

This collaboration supports both countries’ goals of building knowledge societies and fostering people-to-people linkages.

 

4. Outlook Beyond 2025

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India’s education sector is expected to undergo further transformation, driven by digital innovation, global integration, and lifelong learning models:

• EdTech adoption will become more immersive and personalized, integrating AI, adaptive learning, and VR into mainstream education.

• Vocational education will expand through modular certification, industry partnerships, and online delivery, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

• India will emerge as a hub for transnational education, attracting foreign campuses, international faculty, and collaborative R&D.

• Youth empowerment programs will increasingly focus on green skills, digital entrepreneurship, and global citizenship education.

• Public-private partnerships will scale up across skilling, faculty development, content creation, and education financing.

India’s vision is to become a global talent leader by investing in inclusive, tech-enabled, and internationally competitive education.

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Strategic Relevance for FIBC

• Strengthens educational and youth mobility ties between France and India, supporting talent development and knowledge exchange.

• Facilitates partnerships between French institutions, Indian universities, and private actors for co-designed programs and innovation hubs.

• Positions FIBC as a bridge for education diplomacy, academic cooperation, and youth entrepreneurship initiatives.

• Creates opportunities for members in EdTech, training services, student mobility, and institutional collaboration.